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SIR WALTER SCOTT 



THE 

LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



BY 
SIR WALTER SCOTT 



EDITED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
BY 

EALPH HAKTT BOWLES, A.M. 

INSTRUCTOR IN ENGLISH IN THE PHILLIPS EXETER ACADEMY 
EXETER, NEW HAMPSHIRE 



Nefo fgorft 
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 

LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. 
1904 

All rights reserved 



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COPTBIGHT, 1904, 

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1904. 



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CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Prefatory Note • . ix 

Introduction : 

I. The Life of Scott xi 

II. The Lay of the Last Minstrel . . . xxxiv 
III. Books for Reference xlvi 

Map xlviii 

The Lay of the Last Minstrel : 

Introduction 1 

Canto I .5 

Canto II „ 19 

Canto III „ 35 

Canto IV 61 

Canto V 73 

Canto VI 92 

Notes # 113 

Index 151 



PREFATORY NOTE 

It would be difficult to find more wholesome poetry 
for boys and girls than that of Sir Walter Scott. There 
is a contagious purity and a manliness of tone about it 
that fit it especially for young readers. Scott never 
perplexes one with subtle problems, but is always cheer- 
fully objective. He is fond of outdoor things and of 
vigorous men and women. If he never touches us very 
deeply, neither does he depress us by pessimistic views 
of life. He is like a sturdy, sane, yet sprightly friend, 
who, if he ever has doubts and discouragements, never 
troubles us about them, and who stimulates us always 
to sound, hopeful thought and manly, upright action. 

Young people cannot have too many friends of this 
kind, nor can they have too much of such a friend. If 
this little book is the means of extending among boys 
and girls a knowledge of Scott, or of opening to them 
a new field of enjoyment, I shall feel that my labors 
have been more than repaid. 



X THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

I am indebted for assistance in preparing this work 
to the editions of the Lay by J. H. Flather, and by 
Moody and Willard ; and am under especial obligation to 
Dr. W. J. Kolfe for generous permission to use the text 
of his own edition, the result of the most scholarly 
collation. 

RALPH HARTT BOWLESo 

The Phillips Exeter Academy, 
Exeter, N. H., May, 1904. 



INTRODUCTION 

I. THE LIFE OF SCOTT 

Scott modestly says of himself that his "birth was 
neither distinguished nor sordid/' and then adds that it 
was gentle, because of remote connections with ancient 
families, both on his father's and his mother's side. 
These connections were so numerous and distinguished 
that, as Lockhart says in his Life, "There are few in 
Scotland under the titled nobility who could trace their 
blood to so many stocks of historical distinction." On 
his father's side he was descended from Wat of Harden, 
a stern old Border chief, of whom he says in The Lay of 
the Last Minstrel : — 

44 Marauding chief ! his sole delight 
The moonlight raid, the morning fight ; 
Not even the Flower of Yarrow's charms, 
In youth, might tame his rage for arms ; 
And still, in age, he spurned at rest, 
And still his brows the helmet pressed, 
Albeit the blanched locks below 
Were white as Dinlay's spotless snow." l 

On his mother's side he was related to the Blither fords 
and the Swintons, well-known families of the Border. It 

i Canto IV. 
xi 



Xll THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

is singularly appropriate that the mantle of imaginative 
genius should have fallen on a man of Scott's inheritance, 
— a genius which enabled him, in vivid poetry and 
romantic prose, to preserve forever pictures of a Scotch 
life that has long since passed away. 

Scott's immediate parentage was unromantic enough. 
His father, Walter Scott, was a Writer to the Signet, or, 
in modern phrase, an attorney, with a lucrative practice. 
He seems to have been kind, industrious, and frugal, 
somewhat narrow in religious matters, perhaps, but 
highly respected and successful in his profession. He 
had little taste for imaginative literature, and would 
have been horrified at the thought of his son's becoming 
a poet and a novelist. Scott's mother was a Miss Ruth- 
erford, the daughter of a professor of medicine in the 
University of Edinburgh. 

Walter Scott, poet, novelist, and historian, was born 
in Edinburgh, August 15, 1771. He was the third of six 
children who lived to maturity. When he was a } r ear 
and a half old he had a fever which left him lame in the 
right leg. Many attempts were made to restore the com- 
plete use of the limb, but they were all unsuccessful ; and 
at length the boy was sent into the country to live with 
his grandfather at Sandy-Knowe, in the hope that the 
out-of-door life would effect a cure. Here he soon became 
a great favorite, especially with hia grandfather's chief 
shepherd, who would carry the boy up on the hills witli 
him when he went to watch the sheep. There he would 



INTRODUCTION Xlll 

sometimes remain all day long, with the sheep about him. 
On one occasion he is said to have been forgotten and 
left there until a thunderstorm came on. His frightened 
aunt, who, suddenly remembering him, ran up on the 
crags after the boy, found him lying on his back, clapping 
his hands at every flash of lightning, and crying out, 
" Bonny ! bonny ! " 

Except for a year spent at Bath, in the hope that the 
change would be beneficial to his health, and occasional 
visits to Edinburgh, the boy remained at his grandfather's 
until his eighth year. From the testimony of a lady who 
met him in the winter of 1777, when he was little more 
than six years old, we must conclude that he was unusu- 
ally interesting and precocious. She says in a letter to 
a friend : " I last night supped in Mr. Walter Scott's. 
He has the most extraordinary genius of a boy I ever 
saw. He was reading a poem to his mother when I went 
in. I made him read on; it was the description of a 
shipwreck. His passion rose with the storm. He lifted 
his eyes and hands, ' There's the mast gone,' says he ; 
' crash it goes! — they will all perish.' After his agita- 
tion, he turns to me, 'That is too melancholy,' says he; 
'I had better read you something more amusing.' I 
preferred a little chat, and asked his opinion of Milton 
and other books he was reading, which he gave me 
wonderfully." l 

On returning home to live, the young Walter attended 
1 Lockhart's Life, I. 



XIV THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

successively various schools ; but he seems to have been 
only a fair scholar, and speaks of himself as " glancing 
like a meteor from the bottom to the top of the form." 
In spite of his lameness he was a lively little fellow, took 
part in many fist fights, and was a nimble climber. He 
read voraciously out of school hours, and became remark- 
ably versed in literature for a boy of his age. He tells 
us in his autobiographical fragment how he found by 
chance some odd volumes of Shakespeare in his mother's 
dressing room, and with what delight he sat up surrep- 
titiously reading them by the light of the fire. Through 
a tutor employed in the f amity at this time, he was intro- 
duced to Ossian and to Spenser, and a little later, while 
visiting his aunt at Kelso, made the acquaintance of 
Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry. Of these books he 
writes : " I remember well the spot where I read these 
volumes for the first time. It was beneath a huge 
platanus-tree, in the ruins of what had been intended for 
an old-fashioned arbor in the garden. . . . The summer 
day sped onward so fast that, notwithstanding the sharp 
appetite of thirteen, I forgot the hour of dinner, was 
sought for with anxiety, and was still found entranced in 
my intellectual banquet. To read and to remember was, 
in this instance, the same thing, and henceforth I over- 
whelmed my schoolfellows, and all who would hearken 
to me, with tragical recitations from the ballads of Bishop 
Percy. The first time, too, I could scrape a few shillings 
together, which were not common occurrences with me, I 



INTRODUCTION XV 

bought unto myself a copy of these beloved volumes, nor 
do I believe I ever read a book half so frequently, or with 
half the enthusiasm." * 

During his stay at Kelso he attended the public school 
in order to keep fresh in his studies. Here he met James 
and John Ballantyne, who were afterward associated 
with him in the printing business. James Ballantyne 
tells us that: "He was then, as he continued during all 
his after life to be, devoted to antiquarian lore, and was 
certainly the best story-teller I had ever heard, either 
then or since. He soon discovered that I was as fond of 
listening as he himself was of relating; and I remember 
it was a thing of daily occurrence, that, after he had 
made himself master of his own lesson, I, alas ! being 
still sadly to seek in mine, he used to whisper to me, 
'Come, slink over beside me, Jamie, and I'll tell you a 
story.' ... In the intervals of school hours it was our 
constant practice to walk together by the banks of the 
Tweed, our employment continuing exactly the same, for 
his stories seemed to be quite inexhaustible." 2 

In November, 1783, Scott entered the University of 
Edinburgh. Here he seems not to have distinguished 
himself in his studies, but to have spent his spare time 
in rambling about the country and in miscellaneous read- 
ing. On holidays and vacations he would climb Salis- 
bury Crags or some other such picturesque place, and 
spend the day reading with a friend or telling stories, 
1 Lockhart's Life, I. 2 Ibid. 



xvi THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

sometimes tales which he had read, sometimes romances 
\i his own invention. Thus early he seems to have 
^acquired the fluency of expression which he afterwards 
• developed to such a high degree. At this time he began 
to collect old ballads and other legendary lore. He also 
took lessons in painting, but seems to have accomplished 
little. From reading Tasso in translation he became in- 
terested in Italian, and soon acquired a good reading 
knowledge of the language. 

In 1786 Scott left the University without taking a 
degree, and apprenticed himself to his father. The elder 
Scott wished his son to become an advocate ; and, though 
the boy had no inclination toward the profession, he 
yielded to his father's wishes. For the next five or six 
years he spent a good part of every day in his father's 
office, copying documents for threepence a page, and 
acquiring a thorough knowledge of the details of So 
law. It was drudgery, but doubtless valuable discipline 
fur a young man whose intellectual habits were rather 
careless. 

In the first year of his apprenticeship he met Burns ; 
and though he was too young to do more than look at 
and listen to the great man, he won his thanks by nam- 
ing the author of some verses written beneath a picture 
which greatly touched the poet. The same year he 
made his first visit to the Highlands. Alternately 
drudging in his father's office, making lung excursions 
into the country, attending law lectures at the Uni- 



INTRODUCTION xvii 

versity, or debating in the Literary Society, Scott spent 
the years of his apprenticeship, and in 1792 was admitted 
to the bar. 

Like most young lawyers, he found it hard to get 
under way. His father was able to turn some employ- 
ment in his direction, however, so that from the first he 
was assured of a small practice ; but the future poet and 
novelist continued to be better known as a pleasant com- 
panion and a capital story-teller than as a promising 
attorney. His interest in German literature, which had 
been roused a few years before, led him to try his hand 
at translation; and in 1796 he published anonymously 
versions of Burger's Leonore and The Wild Huntsman. 
These attracted very little attention, however, beyond 
the circle of Scott's immediate friends. Nevertheless 
he continued to study German literature, and to trans- 
late German ballads and dramas. The following sum- 
mer, during one of his vacation jaunts, he met Miss 
Charlotte Margaret Carpenter, a vivacious and graceful 
young Frenchwoman, who had come to England at the 
beginning of the Revolution. Scott immediately became 
interested in her, and though a love affair of several 
years' duration had terminated unhappily only the year 
before, he soon became engaged to Miss Carpenter. 
His strait-laced parents seem at first to have regarded 
the young lady with distrust, apparently for no other 
reason than that she was French; but they at length 
softened, and the young people were married in Decern- 



xviii TEE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

ber of the same year. 1707. The following summer they 
took a pretty cottage at Lasswade, on the Esk, abou: 
miles from Edinburgh, where for the next four y 
they lived a simple rustic life. Here Scott spent much 
of his available leisure in collecting antiquarian lore, in 
reading, translating, and writing. Early in 1799 he pub- 
lished a translation of Goethe's 

but like his earlier translations it attracted little notice. 
A little later he wrote some ballads in imitation of the 
ancient style. All this early work brought him little 
money and little reputation; but it served to steady his 
hand for the more important work that he was to do 
later. Meanwhile, in 1789, he was appointed sheriff of 
Selkirk. This position, which yielded a salary of k 
was especially welcome to him at this time, for it relieved 
him from money anxiety at a time when his professional 
income was small and his family expenses were increas- 
ing. It made him feel freer, also, to devote his leisure to 
the literary pursuits which he really loved. The interest 
in ballad literature which lie had shown ever since boy- 
hood expressed itself, in 1S02. in the publication of the 
first two volumes of the Border M flowed a 

year later by a third volume. Scott had taken great 
pains to collect the materials for this work, and in his 
rambles about the country had often gone miles simply 
to hear some new or rare ballad recited, and to note it 
down for future use. As the re>ult of all this patient 
labor the »n of old 



INTRODUCTION xix 

English ballad literature yet made ; and though the work 
did not appeal to the general reader, it at once gave Scott 
considerable reputation among scholars and men of letters. 
His acquaintance now rapidly widened, and his humble 
little cottage at Lasswade was visited by the most emi- 
nent people. 

In the summer of 1804 Scott moved to Ashestiel, a 
modest but beautifully situated house on the banks of 
the Tweed. The period of his residence here, which 
extended over eight years, was noteworthy for the pro- 
duction of most of his poetry. In this new home in the 
country, where he was free to indulge to the full his 
taste for outdoor sports, Scott worked away busily at his 
literary tasks. Of his manner of living at this time 
Lockhart says that : " He had now adopted the habits in 
which, with very slender variation, he after persevered 
when in the country. He rose by five o'clock, lit his 
own fire when the season required one, and shaved and 
dressed with great deliberation, for he was a very marti- 
net as to all but the mere coxcombries of the toilet, not 
abhorring effeminate dandyism itself so cordially as the 
slightest approach to personal slovenliness, or even those 
1 bed-gown and slipper tricks/ as he called them, in which 
literary men are so -apt to indulge. Arrayed in his 
shooting jacket, or whatever dress he meant to use till 
dinner time, he was seated at his desk by six o'clock, all 
his papers arranged before him in the most accurate 
order, and his books of reference marshalled around him 



XX THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL 

on the floor, while at least one favorite dog lay watching 
his eye just beyond the line of eircumvallation. Thus 
by the time the family assembled for breakfast, between 
nine and ten, he had done enough (in his own language) 
1 To break the neck of the days work.' After breakfast a 
couple of hours more were given to his solitary tasks, 
and by noon he was, as he used to say, < his own man.' 
When the weather was bad, he would labor incessantly 
all the morning ; but the general rule was to be out and 
on horseback by one o'clock at the latest. . . ." ■ 

Early in January, 1805, the first of his great narrative 
poems was published ; this was The Lay of the Last Min- 
strel. It met with immediate success, ran rapidly through 
several editions, and brought the author nearly £800, at 
that time a remarkable return for a single work. The 
success of the Lay led Scott to abandon the law and to 
make literature his profession. He now plunged with 
the greatest ardor into various sorts of literary work. 
He began to prepare an edition of Dryden, and varied 
the monotony of his labors at this by turning off occa- 
sional magazine articles. At this time he also began 
Waverley, but after writing a few chapters threw it aside, 
owing to the unfavorable criticism of a friend. 

In 1806 an arrangement was made by which Scott was 

appointed clerk of the Court of Session, while the former 

incumbent, who was old and in feeble health, was to 

receive the salary until his death. This office added con- 

1 Lockhart's Life, II. 



INTRODUCTION xxi 

siderably to the weight of Scott's duties, requiring his 
attendance at the court for from four to six hours a day 
during about six months of the year ; but the salary of 
£800 promised in the near future to increase his income 
to the point where he would feel independent. Speaking 
of the affair he himself said: "I determined that litera- 
ture should be my staff, but not my crutch ; and that the 
profits of my literary labor, however convenient other- 
wise, should not, if I could help it, become necessary 
to my ordinary expenses. Upon such a post an author 
might hope to retreat, without any perceptible alteration 
of circumstances, whenever the time should arrive that 
the public grew weary of his endeavors to please, or he 
himself should tire of the pen." * In the autumn of the 
same year he began Marmion, and soon after it was begun 
sold it for £1000, before the publisher had seen a line of 
the poem. The confidence of the publisher in Scott's 
ability to write a second poem as popular as the Lay 
seems to have been absolute. Marmion appeared early 
in 1808, passed rapidly through successive editions, and 
ultimately proved more popular than The Lay of the Last 
Minstrel. Though lacking the lightness and graceful 
simplicity of the latter, it is a better developed poem. 
The characterization is more carefully elaborated, the 
descriptions are richer, and it contains more striking 
scenes. The same year the edition of Dry den which 
Scott had been working on steadily for the past three 
i Lockhart's Life t II. 



Xxii TEE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

years appeared in eighteen volumes. It met with a 
favorable reception from the critics, and had as good a 
sale as could be expected from such a work. This was 
hardly off his hands when he arranged to edit a similar 
edition of Swift. The amount of labor that he could turn 
off at this time g When one considers the 

demands of his official duties as sheriff and clerk of the 
Court of Session, one wonders how he could have found 
time for the tremendous amount of research required by 
the editions of Dryden and Swift, and at the same time 
- his mind sufficiently elastic to compose poetry. He 
himself said of his labors at this period : " Ay. it was 
enough to tear me to pieces, but there was a wonderful 
exhilaration about it all: my blood was kept at fever- 
pitch. I felt as if I could have grappled with anything 
and everything: then, there was hardly one of all my 
::ies that did not afford me the means of serving 
some poor devil of a brother author. There were always 
huge piles of materials to be arranged, sifted, and indexed 
— volumes of extracts to be transcribed — journeys to be 
made hither and thither, for ascertaining little facts and 
dates, — in short, I could commonly keep half a dozen of 
the ragged regiment of Parnassus in tolerable ease." ■ 

In the midst of such labors as these Scott was able to 
compose The Lady of the Lake, which appeared 
1810. For this poem he received £2000, in those days 
an unprecedented sum. Of its reception a contemporary 
i Lockt n. 



INTRODUCTION XXlil 

says: "I do not recollect that any of all the author's 
works was ever looked for with more intense anxiety, or 
that any one of them excited a more extraordinary sen- 
sation when it did appear. The whole country rang with 
the praises of the poet — crowds set off to view the scen- 
ery of Loch Katrine, till then comparatively unknown ; 
and as the book came out just before the season for 
excursions, every house and inn in that neighborhood 
was crammed with a constant succession of visitors." * 
Scott himself said of the success of the poem : " It was 
certainly so extraordinary as to induce me for the mo- 
ment to conclude that I had at last fixed a nail in the 
proverbially inconstant wheel of Fortune." 2 The Lady 
of the Lake has proved to be the most popular of Scott's 
narrative poems. It has greater variety and is more 
fully developed than TJie Lay of the Last Minstrel, and 
is less obscure and has a more pleasing plot than Mar- 
mion. Its descriptions of natural scenery, and the grace 
of some of the more purely lyric passages are unsur- 
passed. The following year he published TJie Vision of 
Don Roderick, written as a contribution to the Portuguese 
who had suffered from the ravages of the Peninsular 
War. Though successful in bringing in several hundred 
pounds to the fund, the poem added nothing to Scott's 
reputation. 

Scott had for many years cherished the idea of one day 
owning a large estate and a house, where he could live 
i Lockhart's Life, II. 2 Ibid. 



xxiv THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

with dignity and entertain handsomely; and now that 
the financial returns from his poetry were so large he 
began to see the possibility of realizing his hopes. Ac- 
cordingly, in 1811, he made the first step toward building 
up such an estate, by the purchase of a good-sized farm 
lying along the Tweed, about halfway between Melrose 
and Selkirk, and a few miles below Ashestiel. He im- 
mediately set about repairing and enlarging the house, 
planting trees, and draining the land, and for the next 
ten years spent much of his time and all his spare money 
in developing his property. From time to time he pur- 
chased additional land, and in 1817 he laid the founda- 
tions of the present splendid mansion. The building up 
of this magnificent estate severely tasked Scott's financial 
resources ; and in order to raise the necessary money he 
wrote with increasing rapidity. Nevertheless, the period 
extending from 1812, when he moved to Abbotsford, to 
1826, when he became a bankrupt, was probably the hap- 
piest and certainly the most splendid part of his life. 
All the while he saw his dreams of proprietary owner- 
ship being realized on a large scale ; all the while he was 
turning off his literary works with the greatest ease and 
in the greatest profusion ; and at the same time he was 
entertaining his friends and the most distinguished 
visitors with princely hospitality. Washington Irving 
gives us an interesting account of a visit he made at 
Abbotsford in the summer of 1817. He says of his 
reception : — 






INTRODUCTION XXV 

" The noise of my chaise had disturbed the quiet of the 
establishment. Out sallied the warder of the castle, a 
black greyhound, and leaping on one of the blocks of 
stone, began a furious barking. This alarm brought out 
the whole garrison of dogs, all open-mouthed and vocif- 
erous. In a little while, the lord of the castle himself 
made his appearance. I knew him at once, by the like- 
nesses that had been published of him. He came limping 
up the gravel walk, aiding himself by a stout walking- 
staff, but moving rapidly and with vigor. By his side 
jogged along a large iron-gray staghound, of most grave 
demeanor, who took no part in the clamor of the canine 
rabble, but seemed to consider himself bound, for the 
dignity of the house, to give me a courteous reception. 

" Before Scott reached the gate, he called out in a 
hearty tone, welcoming me to Abbotsford. . . . Arrived 
at the door of the chaise, he grasped me warmly by the 
hand : ' Come, drive down, drive down to the house/ said 
he; 'ye're just in time for breakfast, and afterward ye 
shall see all the wonders of the Abbey/ 

" I would have excused myself on the plea of having 
already made my breakfast. <IIut, man/ cried he, <a 
ride in the morning in the keen air of the Scotch hills is 
warrant enough for a second breakfast.' 

" I was accordingly whirled to the portal of the cottage, 
and in a few moments found myself seated at the break- 
fast table. There was no one present but the family, 
which consisted of Mrs. Scot!.; her eldest daughter 



XXVI THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

Sophia, then a fine girl about seventeen; Miss Ann 
Scott, two or three years younger ; Walter, a well-grown 
stripling; and Charles, a lively boy, eleven or twelve 
years of age. 

" I soon felt myself quite at home, and my heart in a 
glow, with the cordial welcome I experienced. I had 
thought to make a mere morning visit, but found I was 
not to be let off so lightly. 'You must not think our 
neighborhood is to be read in a morning, like a news- 
paper/ said Scott ; i it takes several days of study for 
an observant traveller, that has a relish for auld-world 
trumpery. After breakfast you shall make your visit to 
Melrose Abbey ; 1 shall not be able to accompany you, as 
I have some household affairs to attend to; but I will 
put you in charge of my son Charles, who is very learned 
in all things touching the old ruin and the neighborhood 
it stands in. . . . When you come back, I'll take you 
out on a ramble about the neighborhood. To-morrow we 
will take a look at the Yarrow, and the next day we will 
drive over to Dryburgh Abbey, which is a fine old ruin, 
well worth your seeing.' In a word, before Scott had 
got through with his plan, I found myself committed for 
a visit of several days, and it seemed as if a little realm 
of romance was suddenly open before me." l 

Meanwhile, in the midst of the oversight of his im- 
provements and the exercise of hospitality, he continued 
his official labors and his literary work. At the begin- 
1 Washington Irving's Abbotsford. 



. INTRODUCTION xxvii 

ning of 1813 Rokeby appeared. Though looked for 
eagerly, and enjoying a considerable immediate sale, it 
was less favorably received than its predecessors, and 
never became popular. The same year he was honored 
by an offer of the laureateship, and though he declined 
the position because of the duties attached to it, he felt 
gratified by the offer. Meanwhile, he had taken up the 
manuscript of Waverley, which he had begun in 1805, 
and, encouraged by the favorable criticism of a friend, 
completed and published it anonymously in the summer 
of 1814. The appearance of this work marks an epoch 
in Scott's literary history. Hitherto he had been known 
chiefly as a poet; for the future he was to be known 
mainly as a novelist. The work appeared anonymously, 
indeed, and the succeeding novels were announced to be 
" by the author of Waverley " ; but though Scott did not 
publicly acknowledge the authorship until 1827, the 
secret was soon guessed by those who knew him. The 
success of Waverley was not at once remarkable, but it 
was sufficient to show the author that he had struck a 
promising vein. He wrote one more long narrative poem, 
TJie Lord of the Isles, which appeared early in 1815. 
James Ballantyne describes a visit he paid Scott some 
days after this poem appeared : " i Well, James/ he said, 
<I have given you a week — what are people saying 
about The Lord of the Isles ? ' I hesitated a little, after 
the fashion of Gil Bias, but he speedily brought the 
matter to a point. i Come/ he said, ' speak out, my good 



Xxviii THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

low ; what has put it into your head to be on so much 
ceremony with me all of a sudden ? But I see how it is, 
the result is given in one word — Disappointment? My 
silence admitted his inference to the fullest extent. His 
countenance certainly did look rather blank for a few 
seconds ; in truth, he had been wholly unprepared for the 
event ; for it is a singular fact that before the public, or 
rather the booksellers, had given their decision, he no 
more knew whether he had written well or ill, than 
whether a die thrown out of a box was to turn up a size 
or an ace. However, he instantly resumed his spirits, 
and expressed his wonder rather that his poetical popu- 
larity should have continued so long, than that it should 
have now at last given way. At length he said, with per- 
fect cheerfulness : i Well, well, James, so be it — but you 
know we must not droop, for we cannot afford to give 
over. Since one line has failed, we must just stick to 
something else,' — and so he dismissed me and resumed 
his novel." l 

The remark of Scott just quoted, " Since one line has 
failed, we must just stick to something else," is signifi- 
cant. Doubtless he felt that the failure of The Lord of 
the Isles meant that he must look to fiction for his future 
success; and the favorable reception of Wdveriey made 
him very hopeful. The falling off in his own popularity 
he felt was due somewhat to the growing fame of Byron, 
and he said at this time, " Byron hits the mark where I 
1 Lockh&rt's Life, III. 



INTRODUCTION Xxix 

don't even pretend to fledge my arrow." Scott had 
hardly finished The Lord of the Isles when he began Guy 
Mannering, which he wrote with such rapidity that, as 
he himself said, it " was the work of six weeks at a 
Christmas." 

In the summer of 1815 Scott's imagination was so 
excited by the battle of Waterloo and the fall and exile 
of Napoleon, that he went over to the Continent, visited 
the battle-field, and was in Paris during its occupation by 
the allies. Here he was presented to Alexander, Czar of 
Russia, the Duke of Wellington, Marshal Blucher, and 
many other eminent soldiers and statesmen. He was 
present at all the principal parties, balls, dinners, and 
other festivities of the time, and was everywhere honored 
with the attentions of the most distinguished persons. 
He recorded his impressions of his journey in a series of 
letters to his home circle, which were afterward pub- 
lished under the title of PauVs Letters to his Kinsfolk. 
About the same time the poem of The Field of Waterloo 
.was published and met with a large sale. 

The year 1816 was one of the busiest of Scott's life. 
In January appeared PauVs Letters, followed in rapid 
succession by The Antiquary, The Black Dwarf Old Mor- 
tality, and Harold the Dauntless, a drama in verse. The 
novels were now eagerly looked for and voraciously read 
The impression they made is described in a letter from 
the London publisher, Murray, soon after the appearance 
of Old Mortality. " Lord Holland said, when I asked 



XXX THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

hiin his opinion, l Opinion! We did not one of us go 
to bed last night — nothing slept but my gout.'" 1 Early 
in ISIS Bob Roy appeared, followed a little later by The 
Heart of Midlothian. Of this point in Scott's career 
Lockhart says : "At this moment, his position, take it 
for all in all, was, I am inclined to believe, what no other 
man had ever won for himself by the pen alone. His 
works were the daily food, not only of his countrymen, 
but of all educated Europe. His society was courted by 
whatever England could show of eminence. . . . The 
annual profits of his novels alone had, for several years, 
been not less than £10,000; his domains were daily in- 
creased — his castle was rising — and perhaps few doubted 
that ere long he might receive from the just favor of his 
Prince some distinction in the way of external rank, such 
as had seldom before been dreamed of as the possible 
recompense of mere literary celebrity. 

In 1S19 TJie Bride of Lammermoor, TJie Legend of 
Montrose, and Ivanhoe appeared. The first and the last 
of these novels were dictated by Scott while he was suf- 
fering the keenest agony. So ill was he, indeed, when he 
wrote Tlte Bride of Lammermoor, that, on the appearance 
of the novel, he could not recollect a single incident, char- 
acter, or conversation that it contained. In the following 
year he was made a baronet, and was offered the honorary 
degree of D.C.L. by Oxford and Cambridge universities. 
The same year he published TJie Monastery and Tlie 

i Lockhart's Lln\ IV. * j^a. IV. 



INTRODUCTION xxxi 

Abbot These were followed, in 1821, by Kenihvorth and 
The Pirate; in 1822, by The Fortunes of Nigel and the 
dramatic sketch of Halidon Hill; in 1823, by Peveril of 
the Peak, Quentin Durward, and St. Ronan's Well; in 
1824, by Redgauntlet ; and in 1825, by The Betrothed and 
TJie Talisman. In the last-named year he also began the 
Life of Napoleon. 

The year 1825 was the last of Scott's prosperity. He 
had produced his best work, both in poetry and in fiction ; 
he had reached the zenith of his literary popularity and 
his material prosperity ; his name was known and loved 
all over the civilized world; and Abbotsford, now com- 
pleted, was the Mecca of thousands of tourists. Early 
in 1826, when he had just reached the place where he 
might feel that he could afford to pause in his labors and 
enjoy a happy and dignified leisure, his publisher, Con- 
stable, failed, involving the printing firm of James Bal- 
lantyne & Co., of which Scott had been a member since 
1809, to the extent of £117,000. The blow was a terrible 
one to Scott's pride, but he met it in the bravest way. 
He refused to avail himself of the bankrupt laws, by 
which he might have turned over to his creditors his 
available property, and then gone on unencumbered to 
regain by his writing what fortune he could; and he 
likewise declined all offers of assistance from friends. 
But declaring that he would pay every penny by his own 
efforts, he at once set to work. The next five years are 
the history of a heroic struggle against time, to pay off 



xxxii THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

his debts by his literary labors. There is nothing in the 
history of letters like the spectacle of this man, fifty -four 
years old, setting himself to work to pay off financial 
obligations for which he himself was responsible only in 
a technical sense. He had hardly recovered from the 
blow of the failure, however, when Lady Scott died, and 
he was left to labor on alone. At this time he writes in 
his diary: "... . I scarce know how I feel, sometimes 
as firm as the Bass Rock, sometimes as weak as the water 
that breaks on it. I am as alert at thinking and deciding 
as I ever was in my life. Yet when I contrast what this 
place now is, with what it has been not long since, I 
think my heart will break. Lonely, aged, deprived of 
my family — all but poor Ann ; an impoverished, an em- 
barrassed man, deprived of the sharer of my thoughts 
and counsel, who could always talk down my sense of 
the calamitous apprehensions which break the heart that 
must bear them alone." x 

Meanwhile Woodstock, which had been sold to London 
publishers for the enormous sum of £8000, appeared and 
met with tremendous success. The price it brought 
renewed Scott's confidence in his ability to pay all his 
debts, and made him continue his work with fresh energy. 
In 1827 the Life of Napoleon appeared in nine volumes. 
This alone brought Scott's creditors £18,000. The same 
year appeared the first series of Chronicles of the Can- 
ongate, which included The Highland Widow, The Two 
i Lockhart's Life, VII. 



INTROD UC TION xxx iii 

Drovers, and The Surgeon's Daughter, and also the first 
series of Tales of a Grandfather. In 1828 The Fair Maid 
of Perth and the second series of Tales of a Grandfather 
were published, followed in 1829 by Anne of Geierstein 
and a third series of Tales of a Grandfather. Early in 
1830 the strain of so much hard labor brought on a slight 
attack of apoplexy. In spite of this warning, however, 
he persisted in his labors, and the same year wrote and 
published Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft, a fourth 
series of Tales of a Grandfather, and the first volume of 
a History of Scotland. In November he had a second 
attack of apoplexy, and early in 1831 another which 
resulted in partial paralysis. Nevertheless, in spite of 
the protests of his physicians and his friends, he used 
his now clouded faculties sufficiently to complete Count 
Robert of Paris and to write Castle Dangerous, both of 
which were published the same year. In the autumn 
of this year he yielded to the persuasion of his friends, 
and set sail for the Mediterranean in a frigate placed at 
his disposition by the government, in the hope of restor- 
ing his shattered health. After visiting Malta, Naples, 
and Eome, where he was received with the greatest 
courtesy and paid the highest honors, he became anxious 
to get back to Scotland. At Nimeguen, on the home- 
ward journey, he was seized with what proved to be the 
final attack, and he was hurried home. Of the carriage 
journey to Abbotsford, Lockhart says : " He lay in the 
same torpid state during the first two stages on the road 



Xxxiv THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 

to Tweedside. But as we descended the vale of the Gala 
he began to gaze about him, and by degrees it was obvi- 
ous that he was recognizing the features of that familiar 
landscape. Presently he murmured a name or two — 
' Gala water, surely, — Buckholm — Torwoodlee.' As 
we rounded the hill at Ladehope and the outline of the 
Eildons burst on him, he became greatly excited, and 
when, turning himself on the couch, his eye caught at 
length his own towers, at the distance of a mile, he 
sprang up with a cry of delight." * 

The end soon came, and on September 21 the great 
man died. 

" It was a beautiful day — so warm that every window 
was wide oijen — and so perfectly still that the sound of 
all others most delicious to his ear, the gentle ripple of 
the Tweed over its pebbles, was distinctly audible as we 
knelt around the bed, and his eldest son kissed and closed 
his eyes." 2 

Five days later he was laid beside his wife, in the 
family vaults in Dry burgh Abbey. 

II. THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTEEL 

In a letter written in the autumn of 1802, Scott speaks 

of including in the third volume of his Border Minstrelsy, 

which was to appear the following year, " a long poem, 

... a kind of romance of Border chivalry, in a light- 

i Lockhart's Life, VIII. 2 Ibid. 



INTRODUCTION xxxv 

horse sort of stanza." The poem thus alluded to was 
The Lay of the Last Minstrel; but it grew to such length 
that the original intention of publishing it in the Border 
Minstrelsy was abandoned, and it appeared in a volume 
by itself. Scott tells us that he began the poem at the 
request of the Countess of Dalkeith, whose imagination 
had been excited by the legend of a goblin named Gilpin 
Horner ; and that after writing some opening stanzas he 
read them to two of his friends whose literary taste he 
respected, and, discouraged by their indifferent reception, 
abandoned the work. Learning shortly afterward that 
he had misunderstood his friendly critics, and that they 
earnestly wished him to proceed with the romance, he 
resumed and completed it. It was, furthermore, out of 
compliment to Lady Dalkeith that he laid the scene of 
the minstrel's recital at Newark Castle, the favorite resi- 
dence of the first Duchess of Buccleuch, an ancestress 
of Lord Dalkeith. The verse form, he tells us, was sug- 
gested to him by hearing repeated the then unpublished 
poem of Coleridge's Christabel. In fact, he acknowledged 
borrowing directly from it the line, " Jesu Maria, shield 
us well ! " The plan of putting the poem into the mouth 
of the minstrel was a device hit upon by Scott after much 
thought. The subject was one that at that time was 
hardly considered fit for poetical treatment. On first 
taking it up he had intended to make a kind of ballad 
or poetical romance out of it, modelled after the rude 
metrical romances of the Middle Ages. But the poem 



XXXVI THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

grew under his hands into a long narrative of a Border 
raid, interwoven with a slight love story, and an account 
of the pranks of the mischievous goblin page. To offer 
to the public a poem so unusual, without in some way 
shifting responsibility from his own shoulders, or pre- 
paring his readers for the strangeness of the thing, was, 
he feared, somewhat hazardous. The creation of the old 
minstrel was a happy thought which completely solved 
the difficulty. The character in itself stirred the imagi- 
nation ; and the narrative, with its vivid pictures of a rude 
and warlike time, was highly appropriate from his lips. 

The Lay appeared in January, 1805, in a quarto edition 
of seven hundred and fifty copies. Of its reception Scott 
says, in his introduction to the edition of 1830 : — 

" It would be great affectation not to own frankly that 
the Author expected some success from TJie Lay of the 
Last Minstrel. The attempt to return to a more simple 
and natural style of poetry was likely to be welcomed at 
a time when the public had become tired of heroic hex- 
ameters, with all the buckram and binding which belong 
to them of later days. But whatever might have been 
his expectations, whether moderate or unreasonable, the 
result left them far behind, for among those who smiled 
on the adventurous Minstrel were numbered the great 
names of William Pitt and Charles Fox. Neither was 
the extent of the sale inferior to the character of the 
judges who received the poem with approbation. Up- 
wards of thirty thousand copies of the Lay were disposed 



INTRODUCTION xxxvil 

of by the trade ; and the Author had to perform a task 
difficult to human vanity, when called upon to make the 
necessary deductions from his own merits, in a calm 
attempt to account for his popularity." 

Lockhart tells us that Scott underestimated the sale of 
the Lay, and that by 1830 forty-four thousand copies had 
been sold in Great Britain alone. No single British poem 
had ever met with so remarkable a sale. 

Francis Jeffrey, the ablest literary critic of the time, 
and the editor of the Edinburgh Review, said of the 
poem : — 

"We consider this poem as an attempt to transfer the 
refinements of modern poetry to the matter and the man- 
ner of the ancient metrical romance. The author, en- 
amoured of the lofty visions of chivalry, and partial to 
the strains in which they were formerly embodied, seems 
to have employed all the resources of his genius in 
endeavoring to recall them to the favor and admirat ion 
of the public, and in adapting to the taste of modern 
readers, a species of poetry which was once the delight 
of the courtly, but has long ceased to gladden any other 
eyes than those of the scholar and the antiquary. This 
is a romance, therefore, composed by a minstrel of the 
present day ; or such a romance as we may suppose would 
have been written in modern times if that style of com- 
position had continued to be cultivated, and partakes 
consequently of the improvements which every branch 
of literature has received since the time of its desertion." 



XXXV111 THE LAY OF THE LAST MTXSTREL 

Then, after giving a summary of the story, he went 
on to say : — 

••From this little sketch of the story, our readers will 
easily perceive that, however well calculated it may be 
for the introduction of picturesque imagery, or the dis- 
play of extraordinary incident, it has but little pretension 
to the praise of a regular or coherent narrative. The 
magic of the lady, the midnight visit to Melrose, and the 
mighty book of the enchanter, which occupy nearly one- 
third of the whole poem, and engross the attention of the 
reader for a long time after the commencement of the 
narrative, are of no use whatsoever in the subsequent 
development of the fable, and do not contribute, in any 
degree, either to the production or explanation of the 
incidents that follow. The whole character and proceed- 
ings of the goblin page, in like manner, may be considered 
as merely episodical; for though he is employed in some 
of the subordinate incidents, it is remarkable that no 
material part of the fable requires the intervention of 
supernatural agency. The young Buccleugh might have 
wandered into the wood, although he had not been de- 
coyed by a goblin: and the dame might have given her 
daughter to the deliverer of her son, although she had 
never listened to the prattlement of the river and moun- 
tain spirits. There is, besides all this, a great deal of 
gratuitous and digressive description, and the whole sixth 
canto may be said to be redundant. The story should 
naturally end with the union of the lovers ; and the 



INTRODUCTION XXXIX 

account of the feast, and the minstrelsy that solemnized 
their betrothal, is a sort of epilogue, superadded after 
the catastrophe is complete." 

This criticism is not altogether just. It is not true 
that "the magic of the lady, the midnight visit to Mel- 
rose, and the mighty book of the enchanter . . . are of 
no use whatsoever in the subsequent development of the 
fable, and do not contribute, in any degree, either to the 
production or explanation of the incidents that follow." 
It is the magic of the lady that enables her to interpret 
the voices of the Spirit of the Flood and the Spirit of the 
Fell, and so learn that trouble is impending over Brank- 
some Castle ; and it is to meet these troubles successfully 
that she sends William of Deloraine to Melrose for " the 
mighty book of the enchanter." The meeting between 
Deloraine and Cranstoun is the direct result of the visit 
to Melrose, and leads to the theft of the book, the luring 
of the boy into the woods, his consequent capture, the 
raid, and the subsequent combat between Musgrave 
and Cranstoun. It is true that the main incidents of 
the narrative might have been brought about without the 
introduction of the goblin page, but they are not. The 
supernatural agency is introduced in the first canto, and 
is of use " in the subsequent development of the fable," 
and does contribute to the production and explanation of 
the events that follow. Jeffrey's criticism that "the 
whole sixth canto may be said to be redundant " is just. 
Scott himself felt this. In a letter written soon after 



xl THE LAY OF THE LAST MXSTREL 

the appearance of the poem he says, alluding to Jeffrey's 
criticism: "The sixth canto is altogether redundant; for 
the poem should certainly have closed with the union of 
the lovers, when the interest, if any, was at an end. But 
what could I do ? I had my book and my page still on 
my hands, and must get rid of them at all events. Man- 
age them as I would, their catastrophe must have been 
insufficient to occupy an entire canto ; so I was fain to 
eke it out with the songs of the minstrels." l 

Though the omission of this last canto would have 
improved the poem from the point of view of unity, it 
would certainly have deprived us of some of its best pas- 
sages. The canto opens with the famous lines : — 

"Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 
This is my own, my native land ! " 

It also contains the vivid picture of the betrothal ban- 
quet when — 

" . . . from the lofty balcony, 
Rung trumpet, shalm, and psaltery : 
Their clanging bowls old warriors quaff' d, 
Loudly they spoke, and loudly laugh' d ; 
Whisper'd young knights, in tone more mild, 
To ladies fair, and ladies smiled. 
The hooded hawks, high perch'd on beam, 
The clamour join'd, with whistling scream, 

1 Lockhart's Life, II. 



INTRODUCTION xli 

And flapp'd their wings, and shook their bells, 
In concert with the stag-hounds' yells. 
Round go the flasks of ruddy wine, 
From Bordeaux, Orleans, or the Rhine ; 
Their tasks the busy sewers ply, 
And all is mirth and revelry." 

Without this canto, too, we should lose the pathetic bal- 
lads of the minstrels, Albert Graeme and Harold, and 
the dignified ending of the " Hymn for the Dead." The 
truth is that the redundancy of the sixth canto is only 
one of the obvious structural faults of the poem. The 
whole Lay is crude in form. The episodes are not 
smoothly dovetailed ; the poem is not welded into a har- 
monious whole. Scott himself gives the reason for this 
in the letter before quoted: "I began a few verses to be 
called the Goblin Page ; and they lay long by me, till the 
applause of some friends whose judgment I valued in- 
duced me to resume the poem ; so on I wrote, knowing no 
more than the man in the moon how I was to end. . . . 
In the process of the romance, the page, intended to be a 
principal person in the work, contrived (from the base- 
ness of his natural propensities, I suppose) to slink down- 
stairs into the kitchen, and now he must e'en abide 
there." 1 

But if we look from the defects of the poem to its 
beauties we shall find plenty to be grateful for. The 
whole episode of Deloraine's visit to Melrose is in- 

1 Lockhart's Life, II. 



xlii THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL 

teresting. The opening lines of Canto II are justly 
celebrated. Furthermore, a striking contrast is drawn 
between the "Monk of St. Mary's aisle " and the bluff 
moss-trooper, who impatiently scorns the churchman's 

warning with the curt reply : — 

''Penance, father, will I none ; 
Prayer know I hardly one ; 
For mass or prayer can I rarely tarry, 
Save to patter an Ave Mary, 
When I ride on a Border foray. 
Other prayer can I none ; 
So speed me my errand, and let me be gone." — 

And the scene at the grave of Michael is weirdly pictu- 
resque. Equally good in a different way is the scene 
describing the capture of the boy by the English yeo- 
men. In the description of the appearance of the blood- 
hound and of the chief yeoman, one feels that the poet 
had a task that he keenly enjoyed. The same relish 
appears in the account of Watt Tinlinn's entrance to the 

castle. 

11 While thus he spoke, the bold yeoman 
Enter' d the echoing barbican. 
He led a small and shaggy nag, 
That through a bog, from hag to hag, 
Could bound like any Billhope stag. 
It bore his wife and children twain ; 
A half-clothed serf was all their train : 
His wife, stout, ruddy, and dark-brow'd, 
Of silver brooch and bracelet proud, 
Laugh'd to her friends among the crowd. 



INTRODUCTION xliii 

He was of stature passing tall, 

But sparely form'd and lean withal : 

A batter' d morion on his brow ; 

A leathern jack, as fence enow, 

On his broad shoulders loosely hung ; 

A Border axe behind was slung ; 

His spear, six Scottish ells in length, 

Seem'd newly dyed with gore ; 
His shafts and bow, of wondrous strength, 

His hardy partner bore." * 

It was, after all, not the goblin page that chiefly inter- 
ested the poet, but the old-time Scots and their customs. 
He had a wholesome love for sturdy men, a keen eye for 
the picturesque, and was fond of a fight. 

11 Black John of Akeshaw and Fergus Graeme, 
Fast upon my traces came, 
Until I turned at Priesthaugh Scrogg, 
And shot their horses in the bog, 
Slew Fergus with my lance outright — 
I had him long at high despite ; 
He drove my cows last Fastern's night." 2 

This same love of fighting leads him into the interesting 
digression concerning the winning of Eskdale, and the 
punishment of the refractory Beattisons. 

One of the best passages in the poem is that which 
describes the approach of the English to Branksome. 

" Soon on the hill's steep verge he stood, 
That looks o'er Branksome' s towers and wood ; 

1 Canto IV, 52-71. 2 j^'d. 85-91. 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

And martial murmurs, from below, 
Proclaim' d the approaching Southern foe. 
Through the dark wood, in mingled tone, 
Were Border pipes and bugles blown ; 
The coursers' neighing he could ken, 
A measured tread of marching men ; 
While broke at times the solemn hum, 
The Almayn's sullen kettle-drum ; 

And banners tall, of crimson sheen, 
Above the copse appear ; 

And. glistening through the hawthorns green, 
Shine helm, and shield, and spear. 
Light foray ers. first, to view the ground, 
Spurr'd their fleet coursers loosely round ; 

Behind, in close array and fast. 
The Kendal archers, all in green, 

Obedient to the bugle blast. 
Advancing from the wood were seen. 
To back and guard the archer band, 
Lord Dacre's bill-men were at hand : 
A hardy race, on Irthing bred, 
With kilties white, and crosses red, 
Array'd beneath the banner tall. 
That stream'd o'er Acre's conquered wall ; 
And minstrels, as they march 'd in order, 
Play'd, " Noble Lord Dacre. he dwells on the Border." 
Behind the English bill and bow, 
The mercenaries, firm and slow, 

Moved on to fight, in dark array, 
By Conrad led of Wolfenstein. 
Who brought the band from distant Rhine, 

And sold their blood for foreign pay. 



* 



INTRODUCTION xlv 

The camp their home, their law the sword, 

They knew no country, own'd no lord: 

They were not arm'd like England's sons, 

But bore the levin-darting guns ; 

Buff coats, all frounced and 'broider'd o'er, 

And morsing-horns and scarfs they wore ; 

Each better knee was bared, to aid 

The warriors in the escalade ; 

All, as they marched, in rugged tongue, 

Songs of Teutonic feuds they sung." 1 

It is in verse of this sort that Scott is at his best. The 
pageantry of war, the pomp of military display, appealed 
to him very strongly. His poetry does not touch the 
deeper feelings, but deals chiefly with externals. He 
fills the eye with brilliant pictures of glittering warriors 
and prancing chargers. He makes you hear the blare of 
trumpets, the rattle of armor, and the clash of arms. He 
stirs all your savage fighting instincts, and wakens in 
you the enthusiasm of the young volunteer. For the 
time you are lifted up out of your workaday duties, 
breathe the stimulating atmosphere of this realm of 
romance, and return refreshed to the everyday world. 
Scott should be read for entertainment, and approached 
in this spirit The Lay of the Last Minstrel will yield a 
profitable return. 

i Canto IV, 282-325. 



xlvi THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



III. BOOKS FOR REFERENCE 

Biographical. 

Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, Bart, J. G. Lock- 
hart. 

Scott (English Men of Letters), R. H. Hutton. 

Scott (Great Writers' Series), C. D. Yonge. 
Critical. 

Review of the Lay in Edinburgh Bevieiv, April, 1805, Francis 
Jeffrey. 

Sir Walter Scott (essay in London and Westminster Beview), 
Thomas Carlyle. 

Hours in a Library, Vol. I, Leslie Stephen. 

A History of English Bomanticism in the Nineteenth Cen- 
tury, H. A. Beers. 

Modern Painters, Vol. Ill, John Ruskin. 

Essays in Little, Andrew Lang. 

Introduction to Scott's " Lyrics and Ballads" Andrew 
Lang. 

The Spirit of the Age, William Hazlitt. 
General. 

An Illustrated History of English Literature, Garnett and 
Gosse. 

Literary History of England in the XVIIIth and XlXth 
Centuries, Mrs. Oliphant. 

Familiar Anecdotes of Sir Walter Scott, James Hogg. 

Abbotsford, Washington Irving. 

The Scott Country, W. S. Crockett. 




R., River. W., Water (= Stream). B., Burn (= Brook) 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



INTRODUCTION 

The way was long, the wind was cold, 

The Minstrel was infirm and old ; 

His withered cheek and tresses gray 

Seemed to have known a better day ; 

The harp, his sole remaining joy, 5 

Was carried by an orphan boy. 

The last of all the bards was he, 

Who sung of Border chivalry ; - 

For, well-a-day ! their date was fled, 

His tuneful brethren all were dead ; 10 

And he, neglected and oppressed, 

Wished to be with them and at rest. 

No more on prancing °palfrey borne, 

He carolled, light as lark at morn ; 

No longer courted and caressed, 15 

High placed in hall, a welcome guest, 

He poured, to lord and lady gay, 

The unpremeditated lay : 

Old times were changed, old manners gone ; 

A °stranger filled the Stuarts' throne ; 20 

The bigots of the iron °time 

Had called his harmless art a crime. 



,2 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Introd. 

A wandering harper, scorned and poor, 

He begged his bread from door to door, 

And tuned, to please a peasant's ear, 25 

The harp a king had loved to hear. 

He passed where Xewark's stately °tower 

Looks out from Yarrow's birchen bower : 

The Minstrel gazed with wishful eye — 

Xo humbler resting-place was nigh. 30 

With hesitating step at last 

The embattled portal °arch he passed, 

"Whose ponderous grate and massy bar 

Had oft rolled back the tide of war, 

But never closed the °iron door 35 

Against the desolate and poor. 

The °Duchess marked his weary pace, 

His timid mien, and reverend face, 

And bade her page the menials tell 

That they should tend the old man well : 40 

For she had known adversity, 

Though born in such a high degree ; 

In pride of power, in beauty's bloom, 

Had wept o'er Monmouth's bloody tomb ! 

When kindness had his wants supplied, 45 

And the old man was gratified, 

Began to rise his minstrel pride ; 

And he began to talk auon 

Of good °Earl Francis, dead and gone, 

And of °Earl Walter, rest him God ! 50 

A braver ne'er to battle rode ; 

And how full many a tale he knew 

Of the old warriors of Buccleuch : 

And, would the noble Duchess deign 



Introd.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 3 

To listen to an old man's strain, 55 

Though stiff his hand, his voice though weak, 
He thought even yet, the °sooth to speak, 
That, if she loved the harp to hear, 
He could make music to her ear. 

The humble boon was soon obtained ; 60 

The aged Minstrel audience gained. 

But when he reached the room of state 

Where she with all her ladies sate, 

Perchance he wished his boon denied: 

For, when to tune his harp he tried, 65 

His trembling hand had lost the ease 

Which marks security to please ; 

And scenes, long past, of joy and pain 

Came wildering o'er his aged brain — 

He tried to tune his harp in vain. 70 

The pitying Duchess praised its chime, 

And gave him heart, and gave him time, 

Till every string's according glee 

Was blended into harmony. 

And then, he said, he would full °fain 75 

He could recall an ancient strain 

He never thought to sing again. 

It was not framed for village °churls, 

But for high dames and mighty earls ; 

He had played it to °King Charles the Good 80 

When he kept court in °Holyrood ; 

And much he wished, yet feared, to try 

The long-forgotten melody. 

Amid the strings his fingers strayed, 

And an uncertain warbling made, 85 

And oft he shook his hoary head. 

But when he caught the measure wild, 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Introd. 

The old man raised his face and smiled ; 

And lightened up his faded eye 

With all a poet's ecstasy LJL~ 90 

In varying cadence, soft or strong, 

He swept the sounding °chords along : 

The present scene, the future lot, 

His toils, his wants, were all forgot ; 

Cold diffidence and age's frost 95 

In the full tide of song were lost ; 

Each blank, in faithless memory void, 

The poet's glowing thought supplied ; 

And, while his harp responsive rung, 

'Twas thus the Latest Minstrel sung. 100 



~r 



CANTO FIRST 



K 



The feast was over in °Branksome tower, 

And the °Ladye had gone to her secret °bower, 

Her bower that was guarded by word and by spell, 

Deadly to hear, and deadly to tell — 

°Jesu Maria, shield us well ! 

No living °wight, save the Ladye alone, 

Had dared to cross the threshold stone. 



ii 

The tables were °drawn, it was °idlesse all 5 

Knight and page and household squire 
Loitered through the lofty hall, 10 

Or crowded round the ample fire : 
The stag-hounds, weary with the chase, 

Lay stretched upon the °rushy floor, 
And urged in dreams the forest race, 

From Teviot-stone to °Eskdale-moor. 15 



\ 



in 



K 



Nine-and-twenty knights of fame 

Hung their shields in Brauksome Hall j 

Nine-and-twenty squires of °name 

Brought them their steeds to bower from °stall ; 



) THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

Nine-and-twenty °yeomen tall 20 

Waited duteous on them all : 

They were all knights of mettle true, 

Kinsmen to the bold Buccleuch. 

IV 

• Ten of them were sheathed in steel, 
>7 With belted sword and spur on heel ; 25 

N They quitted not their °harness brignt^* 
Neither by day nor yet by night : 
They lay down to rest, 
With corselet laced, 
Pillowed on buckler cold and hard ; 30 

They carved at the meal 
With gloves of steel, 
And they drank the red wine through the helmet 
barred. 



Ten squires, ten yeomen, mail-clad men, 
Waited the beck of the warders ten ; 35 

Thirty steeds, both fleet and wightp^-^ 
> Stood saddled in stable day and night, 
c Barded with frontlet of steel, I °trow, 
And with ° Jedwood-axe at saddle-bow ; 
A hundred more fed free in stall : — 40 

Such was the custom of Branksome Hall. 



\ 



VI 



Why do these steeds stand ready °dight? 
Why watch these warriors armed by night_2^ 
"'They watch to hear the bloodhound baying ; 
They watch to hear the war-horn braying ; 45 



. 



Canto L] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 7 

To see Saint George's °red cross streaming, 

To see the midnight beacon gleaming ; 

They watch against Southern force and guile, 
Lest Scroop or Howard or Percy's °powers 
Threaten Branksome's lordly towers, 50 

From Wark worth or Naworth or merry °Carlisle. 

VII 

Such is the custom of Branksome Hall. 

Many a valiant knight is here ; 
But he, the chieftain of them all, 
His sword hangs rusting on the wall 55 

Beside his broken spear. 
Bards long shall tell 
How °Lord Walter fell ! 
When startled °burghers fled afar 
The furies of the Border war, 60 

When the streets of high °Dunedin 
Saw lances gleam and °falchions redden, 
And heard the slogan's deadly °yell, — 
Then the Chief of Branksome fell. 

VIII 

Can piety the discord heal, 65 

Or stanch the death-feud's enmity ? 
Can Christian lore, can patriot zeal, 

Can love of blessed charity ? 
No ! vainly to each holy shrine 

In mutual °pilgrimage they drew, 70 

Implored in vain the grace divine 

For chiefs their own red falchions slew. 
While Cessford owns the rule of Carr, 

While Ettrick boasts the line of Scott, 



7 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

The slaughtered chiefs, the mortal jar, 75 

The havoc of the feudal war, 
Shall never, never be forgot ! 

IX 

In sorrow o'er Lord Walter's °bier 

The warlike foresters had bent, 
And many a flower and many a tear 80 

Old Teviot's maids and matrons lent ; 
But o'er her warrior's bloody bier 
The Ladye dropped nor flower nor tear ! 
Vengeance, deep-brooding o'er the slain, 

Had locked the source of softer woe, 85 

And burning pride and high disdain \ 

Forbade the rising tear to flow ; C>v * 
Until, amid his sorrowing °clan, 

Her son lisped from the nurse's knee, 
"And if I live to be a man, 90 

My father's death revenged shall be ! n 
Then fast the mother's tears did seek 
To dew the infant's kindling cheek. 



All loose her negligent attire, 

All loose her golden hair, 95 

Hung Margaret o'er her slaughtered sire 

And wept in wild despair. 
But not alone the bitter tear 

Had filial grief supplied, 
**For hopeless love and anxious fear 100 

Had lent their mingled tide ; 
Nor in her mother's altered eye 
Dared she to look for sympathy. 



Canto I.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 9 

Her lover 'gainst her father's °clan 

With Carr in arms had stood, 105 

When Mathouse-burn to Melrose ran 

All purple with their blood ; 
And well she knew her mother dread, 
Before Lord Cranstoun she should wed, 
Would see her on her dying bed. no 



XI 



-\ 



Of noble race the Ladye came ; 
Her father was a °clerk of fame, 

Of Bethune's line of Picardie : 
He learned the art that none may °name 

In °Padua, far beyond the sea. 115 

Men said he changed his mortal frame 

By feat of magic mystery ; 
For when in studious mood he paced 

Saint Andrew's cloistered °hall, 
His form no darkening shadow °traced 120 

Upon the sunny wall ! 



XII 

And of his skill, as bards avow, 

He taught that Ladye fair, 
Till to her bidding she could bow 

The viewless forms of air. 125 

And now she sits in secret bower, 
In old Lord David's western °tower, 
And listens to a heavy sound 
That moans the mossy turrets round. 
Is it the roar of Teviot's tide, 130 

That chafes against the scaur's red °side ? V 



10 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

Is it the wind, that swings the oaks ? 

Is it the echo from the rocks ? 

What may it be, the heavy sound, 

That moans old Branksome's turret round ? 135 

XIII 

At the sullen, moaning sound 

The °ban-dogs bay and howl, 
And from the turrets round 

Loud whoops the startled owl. 
-*-^Jn the hall, both squire and knigjjfc-- --— ^ 140 

Swore that a storm was near, 
And looked forth to view the night ; 

But the night was still and clear ! 

XIV 

From the sound of Teviot's tide, 

Chafing with the mountain's side, 145 

From the groan of the wind-swung oak, 

From the sullen echo of the rock, 

From the voice of the coming storm, 

The Ladye knew it well ! 
It was the Spirit of the Flood that spoke, 150 

And he called on the Spirit of the °Fell. 

xv 

RIVER SPIRIT 

" Sleep'st thou, brother ? " 

MOUNTAIN SPIRIT 

" Brother, nay — 
On my hills the moonbeams play. 



Canto I.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 11 

From Craik-cross to °Skelfhill-pen, 

By every rill, in every glen, 155 

Merry elves their °morris pacing, 

To aerial minstrelsy, 
Emerald °rings on brown heath tracing, 

Trip it deft and merrily. 
Up, and mark their nimble feet ! 160 

Up, and list their music sweet ! " 

XVI 
RIVER SPIRIT 

" Tears of an imprisoned maiden 

Mix with my polluted stream ; 
Margaret of Branksome, sorrow-laden, 

Mourns beneath the moon's pale beam. 165 

Tell me, thou who view'st the stars, 
When shall cease these feudal jars ? 
What shall be the maiden's fate ? 
Who shall be the maiden's mate ? " 



i 



XVII 
MOUNTAIN SPIRIT 

" Arthur's slow °wain his course doth roll 170 

In utter darkness round the pole ; 

The Northern Bear lowers black and grim, 

Orion's studded °belt is dim ; 

Twinkling faint, and distant far, 

Shimmers through mist each planet star ; 175 

111 may I read their high decree : 
But no kind influence deign they shower 
On Teviot's tide and Branksome's tower 

Till pride be quelled and love be free." 



12 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

XVIII 

The unearthly voices ceased, 180 

And the heavy sound was still ; 
It died on the river's breast, 

It died on the side of the hill. 
But round Lord David's tower 

The sound still floated near ; 185 

For it rung in the Ladye's bower, 

And it rung in the Ladye's ear. 
She raised her stately head, 
\ And her heart throbbed high with pride : 
" Your mountains shall bend 190 

And your streams ascend, 

Ere Margaret be our f oeman's bride ! " 



XIX 

The Ladye sought the lofty hall, 

Where many a bold retainer lay, 
And with jocund din among them all 195 

Her son pursued his infant j)lay. 
A fancied °moss-trooper, the boy- - 

The °truncheon of a spear bestrode, 
And round the hall right merrily 

In mimic foray rode. 200 

Even bearded knight s, in arms grown old, 

Share in his frolic gambols bore, 
Albeit their hearts of rugged mould 

Were stubborn as the steel they wore. 
For the gray warriors prophesied 205 

How the brave boy in future waj; 
Should tame the Unicorn's °pride, 

Exalt the Crescents and the Star. 



Canto I.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



13 



XX 

The Ladye forgot her purpose high 

One moment and no more, 
One moment gazed with a mother's eye 

As she paused at the arched door ; 
Then from amid the armed train 
She called to her William of °Deloraine. 



> 



XXI 



A °stark moss-trooping Scott was he 

As e'er couched Border lance by knee : 

Through °Solway Sands, through °Tarras Moss, 

Blindfold he knew the paths to cross ; 

By .wily °turns, by desperate bounds, 

Had baffled Percy's best bloodhounds ; 

In Eske or Liddel fords were none 

But he would ride them, one by one; 

Alike to him was time or tide, 

December's snow or July's pride ; 

Alike to him was tide or time," - 

Moonless midnight or matin °prime : 

Steady of heart and stout of hand 

As ever drove prey from Cumberland; 

Five times outlawed had he been 

By England's king and Scotland's °queen. 



215 



225 



230 



XXTT 



"Sir William of Deloraine, good at need, 
Mount thee on the °wightest steed; 
Spare not to spur nor stint to ride 
Until thou come to Fair Tweedside; 



14 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

And in Melrose's holy pile 235 

Seek thou the Monk of Saint Mary's aisle. 
Greet the father well from me ; 

Say that the fated hour is come, 
And to-night he shall watch with thee, 

To win the treasure of the tomb : 240 

For this will be Saint °Michael's night, 
And though stars be dim the moon is bright, 
And the cross of bloody red 
Will point to the grave of the mighty dead. 

XXIII 

"What he gives thee, see thou keep ; 245 

Stay not thou for food or sleep : 
• Be it scroll or be it book, 

Into it, knight, thou must not look ; 

If thou readest, thou art °lorn ! 

Better hadst thou ne'er been born ! " 250 

XXIV 

" swiftly can speed my dapple-gray steed, 

Which drinks of the Teviot clear ; 
Ere break of day," the warrior gan say, 

" Again will I be here : 
And safer by none may thy errand be done 255 

Than, noble dame, by me ; 
Letter nor line know I never one, 

Were't my neck-verse at °Hairibee." 

xxv 

Soon in his saddle sate he fast, 

And soon the steep descent he passed, 260 

NT 



Canto L] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 15 

Soon crossed the sounding °barbican, 

And soon the Teviot side he won. 

Eastward the wooded path he rode, 

Green hazels o'er his °basnet nod ; 

He passed the °Peel of Goldiland, 265 

And crossed old Borthwick's roaring strand ; 

Dimly he viewed the Moat-hill's °inound, 

Where Druid °shades still flitted round : 

In Hawick twinkled many a light ; 

Behind him soon they set in night 1 „ 270 

And soon he spurred his courser keen 
Beneath the tower of Hazeldean. 

XXVI 

The clattering hoofs the watchmen mark : 

" Stand, ho ! thou courier of the dark." 

" For Branksome, ho ! " the knight rejoined, 275 

And left the friendly tower behind. 

He turned him now from Teviotside, 

And, guided by the tinkling rill, 
Northward the dark ascent did ride, 

And gained the moor at Horseliehill ; 280 

Broad on the left before him lay 
For many a mile the Roman °way. 

XXVII 

A moment now he slacked his speed, 

A moment breathed his panting steed, 

Drew saddle-girth and corselet-band, 285 

And loosened in the sheath his °braml. 

On °Minto-crags the moonbeams glint, 

Where °Barnhill hewed his bed of Hint, 



16 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTSEL [Canto I. 

1 ~ 
Who flung his outlawed limbs to rest 
Where falcons hang their giddy nest 290 

Mid cliffs from whence his eagle eye 
For many a league his prey could spy ; 
Cliffs doubling, on their echoes borne, 
The terrors of the robber's horn ; 
Cliffs which for many a later year 29* 

The warbling °Doric reed shall hear, 
When some sad °swain shall teach the grove 
Ambition is no cure for love. 

XXVIII 

Unchallenged, thence passed Deloraine 

To ancient Riddel's fair doma in^ 300 

Where °Aill ? from mountains freed, 
Down from the lakes did raving come ; 
Each wave was crested with tawny foam, 

Like the mane of a chestnut steed. 
In vain ! no torrent, deep or broad, 305 

Might bar the bold moss-trooper's road. 

XXIX 

At the first plunge the horse sunk low, 
And the water broke o'er the saddle-bow : 
Above the foaming tide, I °ween, 

Scarce half the charger's neck was seen j 310 

For he was barded from °counter to tail, 

And the rider was armed complete in mail ; 

Never heavier man and horse 

Stemmed a midnight torrent's force. 

The warrior's very plume, I say, 315 

Was daggled by the dashing spray ; 



Canto L] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 17 

Yet, through good heart and °Our Ladye's grace, 
At length he gained the landing-place. 

XXX 

Now Bowden Moor the °march-man won, 

And sternly shook his plumed head, 320 

As glanced his eye o'er °Halidon ; 

For on his soul the slaughter red 
Of that unhallowed morn arose, 
When first the Scott and Carr were foes ; 
When royal James beheld the fray, 325 

Prize to the victor of the °day ; 
When Home and Douglas in the van 
Bore down Buccleuch's retiring clan, 
Till gallant Cessford's heart-blood dear 
Eeeked on dark Elliot's Border spear. 330 

XXXI 

In bitter mood he spurred fast, 

And soon the hated heath was past ; 

And far beneath, in lustre wan, 

Old °Melros' rose and fair Tweed ran : 

Like some tall rock with lichens gray, 335 

Seemed, dimly huge, the dark Abbaye. 

When Hawick he passed had °curfew rung, 

Now midnight °lauds were in Melrose sung. 

The sound upon the fitful gale 

In solemn wise did rise and fail, 340 

Like that wild °harp whose magic tone 

Is wakened by the winds alone. 

But when Melrose he reached 'twas silence all ; 

He °meetly stabled his steed in stall, 

And sought the convent's lonely wall. 



18 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

Here paused the harp ; and with its swell 

The Master's fire and courage fell : 

Dejectedly and low he bowed, 

And, gazing timid on the crowd, 

He seemed to seek in every eye 350 

If they approved his minstrelsy ; 

And, diffident of present praise, 

Somewhat he spoke of former days, 

And how old age and wandering long 

Had done his hand and harp some wrong. 355 

The Duchess, and her daughters fair, 

And every gentle lady there, 

Each after each, in due °degree, 

Gave praises to his melody ; 

His hand was true, his voice was clear, 360 

And much they longed the rest to hear. 

Encouraged thus, the aged man 

After meet rest again began. 



CANTO SECOND 



If thou wouldst °view fair Melrose aright, 

Go visit it by the pale moonlight ; 

For the gay beams of lightsome day 

Gild but to flout the ruins gray. 

When the broken arches are black in night, 

And each shafted °oriel glimmers white ; 

When the cold light's uncertain shower 

Streams on the ruined central tower ; 

When buttress and buttress, alternately, 

Seemed framed of ebon and ivory; 

When silver edges the °imagery, 

And the °scrolls that teach thee to live and die ; 

When distant Tweed is heard to rave, 

And the owlet to hoot o'er the dead man's grave, 

Then go — but go alone the while — 

Then view Saint David's ruined °pile ; 

And, home returning, soothly swear 

Was never scene so sad and fair ! 

ii 

Short halt did Deloraine make there ; 
Little °recked he of the scene so fair : 
With dagger's hilt on the ° wicket strong 
He struck full loud, and struck full long. 
19 



20 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

The porter hurried to the gate : 

" Who knocks so loud, and knocks so late ? " 

" From Branksome I," the warrior cried ; 25 

And straight the wicket opened wide : 

For Branksome' s chiefs had in battle stood 

To °fence the rights of fair Melrose ; 
And lands and livings, many a °rood, 

Had gifted the shrine for their souls' repose. 30 

111 
Bold Deloraine his errand said ; 
The porter bent his humble head ; 
With torch in hand, and feet unshod, 
And noiseless step, the path he trod : 
The arched cloister, far and wide, 35 

Kang to the warrior's clanking stride, 
Till, stooping low his lofty crest, 
He entered the cell of the ancient priest, 
And lifted his barred °aventayle 
To hail the Monk of Saint Mary's aisle. 40 

IV 

" The Ladye of Branksome greets thee by me, 

Says that the fated hour is come, 
And that to-night I shall watch with thee, 

To win the treasure of the tomb." 
From sackcloth couch the monk arose, 45 

With toil his stiffened limbs he reared ; 
A hundred years had flung their snows 

On his thin locks and floating beard. 



And strangely on the knight looked he, 

And his blue eyes gleamed wild and wide : 50 



Canto II.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 21 

" And darest thou, warrior, seek to see 

What heaven and hell alike would hide ? 
My breast in belt of iron pent, 

With shirt of °hair and scourge of °thorn, 
For threescore years, in penance spent, 55 

My knees those flinty stones have worn; 
Yet all too little to atone 
For knowing what should ne'er be known. 
Wouldst thou thy every future year 

In ceaseless prayer and penance °drie, 60 

Yet wait thy latter end with fear — 

Then, daring warrior, follow me ! " 

VI 

" Penance, father, will I none ; 

Prayer know I hardly one ; 

For mass or prayer can I rarely tarry, 65 

Save to °patter an °Ave Mary, 

When I ride on a Border foray. 

Other prayer °can I none ; 

So speed me my errand, and let me begone." 

VII 

Again on the knight looked the churchman old, 70 

And again he sighed heavily ; 
For he had himself been a warrior bold, 

And fought in Spain and Italy. 
And he thought on the days that were long since by, 
When his limbs were strong and his courage was high : 75 
Now, slow and faint, he led the way 
Where, cloistered round, the garden °lay ; 
The pillared arches were over their head, 
And beneath their feet were the bones of the dead. 



22 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

VIII 

Spreading herbs and flowerets bright 80 

Glisten with the dew of night ; 

Nor herb nor floweret glistened there 

But was carved in the cloister-arches as fair. 

The monk gazed long on the lovely moon, 

Then into the night he looked forth ; 85 

And red and bright the streamers light 

Were dancing in the glowing north. 
So had he seen, in fair Castile, 

The youth in glittering squadrons start, 
Sudden the flying °jennet wheel, 90 

And hurl the unexpected dart. 
He knew, by the streamers that shot so bright, 
That spirits were riding the northern light. 

IX 

By a steel-clenchecl postern door 

They entered now the chancel tall ; 95 

The darkened roof rose high °aloof 

On pillars lofty and light and small : 
The °keystone that locked each ribbed aisle 
Was a fleur-de-lys or a quatre-f euille ; 
The corbels were carved grotesque and grim ; 100 

And the °pillars, with clustered shafts so trim, 
With base and with capital flourished around, 
Seemed bundles of lances which garlands had bound. 



Full many a °scutcheon and banner °riven 
Shook to the cold night-wind of heaven, 105 

Around the screened altar's °pale ; 



Canto II.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 23 

And there the dying lamps did burn 
Before thy low and lonely °urn, 
gallant Chief of °Otterburne ! 

And thine, dark Knight of °Liddesdale ! no 

fading honors of the dead ! 
high ambition lowly laid ! 



XI 

The moon on the east °oriel shone 
Through slender shafts of shapely stone, 

By foliaged tracery combined ; 115 

Thou wouldst have thought some fairy's hand 
'Twixt poplars straight the osier wand 

In many a freakish knot had twined, 
Then framed a spell when the work was done, 
And changed the willow wreaths to stone. 120 

The silver light, so pale and faint, 
Showed many a prophet and many a saint, 

Whose image on the glass was dyed ; 
Full in the midst, his cross of red 
Triumphant °Michael brandished, 125 

And trampled the °Apostate's pride. 
The moonbeam kissed the holy pane, 
And threw on the pavement a bloody stain. 



XII 

They sate them down on a marble stone — 

A Scottish °monarch slept below ; 130 

Thus spoke the monk in solemn tone : 
u I was not always a man of woe ; 

For Paynim Countries I have trod, 

And fought beneath the Cross of God : 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MTNSTREL [Cmo IL 

Now, strange to my eyes thine arms appear, 
And their iron clang sounds strange to my ear. 

XIII 

" In these far climes it was my lot 
To meet the wondrous "Michael Scott; 

izard of such dreaded fame 
That when, in Salamanca's "cave, 140 

Him "listed his magic wand to wave, 

The bells would ring in "Notre Dame ! 
Some of his skill he taught to me ; 
And, warrior, I could say to thee 
The words that cleft Eildon Hills in "three, 145 

And bridled the Tweed with a curb of stone: 
But to speak them were a deadly sin, 
And for having but thought them my heart within 

A treble penance must be done. 

xrr 

Vhen Michael lay on his dying bed, 150 

His conscience was awakened ; 
He bethought him of his sinful deed, 
And he gave me a sign to come with speed : 

ras in Spain when the morning rose, 
But I stood by his bed ere evening close. 
The words may not again be said 
That he spoke to me, on death-bed laid ; 
They would rend this Abbaye's massy nave, 

d pile it in heaps above his grave. 

XT 

u I swore to bury his Mighty Book, 160 

That never mortal might therein look ; 



Canto IT.] THE LA Y OF THE LAST MINSTREL 25 

And never to tell where it was hid, 

Save at his Chief of Branksome's need ; 

And when that need was past and o'er, 

Again the volume to restore. 165 

I buried him on Saint Michael's night, 

When the bell tolled one and the moon was bright, 

And I dug his chamber among the dead, 

When the floor of the °chancel was stained red, 

That his patron's cross might over him wave, 170 

And scare the fiends from the wizard's grave. 



XVI 

" It was a night of woe and dread 

When Michael in the tomb I laid ; 

Strange sounds along the chancel passed, 

The banners waved without a blast " — 175 

Still spoke the monk, when the bell tolled one! — 

I tell you, that a braver man 

Than William of Deloraine, good at need, 

Against a foe ne'er spurred a steed ; 

Yet somewhat was he chilled with dread, 180 

And his hair did bristle upon his head. 

XVII 

" Lo, warrior ! now, the cross of red 

Points to the grave of the mighty dead: 

Within it burns a wondrous light, 

To chase the spirits that love the night ; 185 

That lamp shall burn °unquenchably, 

Until the eternal doom shall be." 

Slow moved the monk to the broad flagstone 

Which the bloody cross was traced °upon : 



26 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II 

He pointed to a secret nook ; 190 

An iron bar the warrior took ; 

And the monk made a sign with his withered hand, 
The grave's huge portal to expand. 

XVIII 

With beating heart to the task he went, 

His sinewy frame o'er the gravestone bent, 195 

With bar of iron heaved amain 

Till the toil-drops fell from his brows like rain. 

It was by dint of passing °strength 

That he moved the massy stone at length. 

I would you had been there to see 200 

How the light broke forth so gloriously, 

Streamed upward to the chancel roof, 

And through the galleries far aloof ! 

No earthly flame blazed e'er so bright ; 

It shone like heaven's own blessed light, 205 

And, issuing from the tomb, 
Showed the monk's cowl and visage pale, 
Danced on the dark-browed warrior's mail, 

And kissed his waving plume. 



XIX 

Before their eyes the wizard lay, 210 

As if he had not been dead a day. 

His hoary beard in silver rolled, 

He seemed some seventy winters old ; 

A palmer's °amice wrapped him round, 

With a wrought Spanish °baldric bound, 215 

Like a pilgrim from beyond the sea : 
His left hand held his Book of Might, 



Canto II.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

A silver cross was in his right ; 

The lamp was placed beside his knee. 
High and majestic was his look, 
At which the °fellest fiends had shook, 
And all unruffled was his face : 
They trusted his soul had gotten grace. 



xx 

Often had William of Deloraine 

Eode through the battle's bloody plain, 225 

And trampled down the warriors slain, 

And neither known °remorse nor awe, 
Yet now remorse and awe he owned ; 
His breath came thick, his head swam round, 

When this strange scene of death he saw. 230 

Bewildered and unnerved he stood, 
And the priest prayed fervently and loud : 
With eyes averted prayed he ; 
He might not endure the sight to see 
Of the man he had loved so brotherly. 235 

XXI 

And when the priest his °death-prayer had prayed, 

Thus unto Deloraine he said : 

" Now, °speed thee what thou hast to do, 

Or, warrior, we may dearly °rue; 

For those thou mayst not look upon 240 

Are gathering fast round the yawning stone ! " 

Then Deloraine in terror took 

From the cold hand the Mighty Book, 

With iron clasped and with iron bound : 

He thought, as he took it, the dead man frowned ; 245 



28 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

But the glare of the sepulchral light 
Perchance had dazzled the warrior's sight. 



XXII 

When the huge stone sunk o'er the tomb, 

The night returned in double gloom, 

For the moon had gone down and the stars were few; 250 

And as the knight and priest withdrew, 

With wavering steps and dizzy brain, 

They hardly might the °postern gain. 

'Tis said, as through the aisles they passed, 

They heard strange noises on the blast; 255 

And through the cloister-galleries small, 

Which at mid-height thread the chancel wall, 

Loud sobs, and laughter louder, ran, 

And voices unlike the voice of man, 

As if the fiends kept holiday 260 

Because these spells were brought to day. 

I cannot tell how the truth may be ; 

I say the tale as 'twas said to me. 

XXIII 

" Now, hie thee hence," the father said, 

" And when we are on death-bed laid, 265 

O may our dear Ladye and sweet Saint John 

Forgive our souls for the deed we have done ! " 

The monk returned him to his cell, 

And many a prayer and penance sped ; 
When the convent met at the noontide bell, 270 

The Monk of Saint Mary's aisle was dead ! 
Before the cross was the body laid, 
With hands clasped fast, as if still he prayed. 



Canto II.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 29 

XXIV 

The knight breathed free in the morning wind, 

And strove his hardihood to find : 275 

He was glad when he passed the tombstones gray 

Which girdle round the fair Abbaye ; 

For the mystic book, to his bosom pressed, 

Felt like a load upon his breast, 

And his joints, with °nerves of iron twined, 280 

Shook like the aspen-leaves in wind. 

Full °fain was he when the dawn of day 

Began to brighten Cheviot gray ; 

He joyed to see the cheerful light, 

And he said Ave Mary as well as he might. 285 



XXV 

The sun had brightened Cheviot gray, 

The sun had brightened the Carter's °side ; 
And soon beneath the rising day 

Smiled Branksome towers and Teviot's tide. 
The wild birds told their warbling tale, 290 

And wakened every flower that blows ; 
And peeped forth the violet pale, 

And spread her breast the mountain rose. 
And lovelier than the rose so red, 

Yet paler than the violet pale, 295 

She early left her sleepless bed, 

The fairest maid of Teviotdale. 



XXVI 

Why does fair Margaret so early awake, 
And don her °kirtle so °hastilie ; 



30 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

And the silken knots, which in hurry she would make, 300 

Why tremble her slender fingers to tie ? 
Why does she stop and look often around, 

As she glides down the secret stair ; 
And why does she pat the shaggy bloodhound, 

As he rouses him up from his lair ; 305 

And, though she passes the postern alone, 
Why is not the watchman's bugle blown ? 



XXVII 

The ladye steps in doubt and dread 

Lest her watchful mother heard her tread ; 

The ladye caresses the rough bloodhound 310 

Lest his voice should waken the castle round ; 

The watchman's bugle is not blown 

For he was her foster-father's son ; 

And she glides through the greenwood at dawn of light 

To meet Baron Henry, her own true knight. 315 



XXVIII 

The knight and ladye fair are met, 

And under the hawthorn's boughs are °set. 

A fairer pair were never seen 

To meet beneath the hawthorn green. 

He was stately and young and tall, 320 

Dreaded in battle and loved in hall ; 

And she, when love, scarce told, scarce hid, 

Lent to her cheek a livelier red, 

When the half sigh her swelling breast 

Against the silken ribbon pressed, 325 




Canto II.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 

When her blue eyes their secret told, 
Though shaded by her locks of gold — 
Where would you find the peerless °fair 
With Margaret of Branksome might compare 



XXIX 

And now, fair dames, methinks I see 330 

You listen to my minstrelsy ; 

Your waving locks ye backward throw, 

And sidelong bend your necks of snow. 

Ye ween to hear a melting tale 

Of two true lovers in a dale ; 335 

And how the knight, with tender fire, 

To paint his faithful passion strove, 
Swore he might at her feet expire, 

But never, never cease to love ; 
And how she blushed, and how she sighed, 340 

And, half consenting, half denied, 
And said that she would die a maid ; — 
Yet, might the bloody feud be stayed, 
Henry of Cranstoun, and only he, 
Margaret of Branksome's choice should be. 345 



xxx 

Alas ! fair dames, your hopes are vain ! 
My harp has lost the enchanting strain; 

Its lightness would my age reprove : 
My hairs are gray, my limbs are old, 
My heart is dead, my veins are cold : 350 

I may not, must not, sing of love. 



32 THE LA Y OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

XXXI 

Beneath an oak, mossed o'er by °eld, 
The Baron's °dwarf his courser held, 

And held his crested helm and spear: 
That dwarf was scarce an earthly man, 355 

If the tales were true that of him ran 

Through all the Border far and near. 
'Twas said, when the Baron a-hunting rode 
Through Keedsdale's glens, but rarely trod, 
He heard a voice cry, " Lost ! lost ! lost ! " 360 

And, like tennis-ball by racket tossed, 

A leap of thirty feet and three 
Made from the gorse this elfin shape, 
Distorted like some dwarfish ape, 

And lighted at Lord Cranstoun's knee. 365 

Lord Cranstoun was some ° whit dismayed ; 
? Tis said that five good miles he °rade, 

To rid him of his company ; 
But where he rode one mile, the dwarf ran four, 
And the dwarf was first at the castle door. 370 

XXXII 

Use lessens marvel, it is said : 

This elfish dwarf with the Baron stayed ; 

Little he ate, and less he spoke, 

Nor mingled with the menial flock ; 

And oft apart his arms he tossed, 375 

And often muttered, " Lost ! lost ! lost ! " 

He was waspish, arch, and °litherlie, 

But well Lord Cranstoun served he : 
And he of his service was full fain; 
For once he had °been ta'en or slain, 380 

°An it had not been for his ministry. 



1 



Canto II.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 33 

All between Home and °Hermitage 
Talked of Lord Cranstoun's Goblin Page. 



XXXIII 

For the Baron went on pilgrimage, 

And took with him this elfish page, 385 

To Mary's Chapel of the Lowes ; 
For there, beside Our Ladye's lake, 
An offering he had sworn to make, 

And he would pay his vows. 
But the Ladye of °Branksome gathered a band 390 
Of the best that would ride at her command ; 

The trysting-place was Newark Lee. 
Wat of Harden came thither amain, 
And thither came John of Thirlestane, 
And thither came William of Deloraine ; 395 

They were three hundred spears and three. 
Through Douglas-burn, up Yarrow stream, 
Their horses prance, their lances gleam. 
They came to Saint Mary's lake ere day, 
But the chapel was void and the Baron away. 400 
They burned the chapel for very rage, 
And cursed Lord Cranstoun's Goblin Page. 

xxxiv 

And now, in Branksome's good greenwood, 

As under the aged oak he stood, 

The Baron's courser pricks his ears, 405 

As if a distant noise he hears. 

The dwarf waves his long lean arm on high, 

And signs to the lovers to part and fly ; 

No time was then to vow or sigh. 



34 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

Fair Margaret through, the hazel-grove 410 

Flew like the startled °cushat-dove : 

The dwarf the stirrup held and rein ; 

Vaulted the knight on his steed amain, 

And, pondering deep that morning's scene, 

Rode eastward through the hawthorns green. 415 



While thus he poured the lengthened tale, 

The Minstrel's voice began to fail. 

Full slyly smiled the observant page, 

And gave the withered hand of age 

A goblet, °crowned with mighty wine, 420 

The blood of Velez' scorched °vine. 

He raised the silver cup on high, 

And, while the big drop filled his eye, 

Prayed God to bless the Duchess long, 

And all who cheered a son of song. 425 

The attending maidens smiled to see 

How long, how deep, how zealously, 

The precious juice the Minstrel quaffed; 

And he, emboldened by the draught, 

Looked gayly back to them and laughed. 430 

The °cordial nectar of the bowl 

Swelled his old veins and cheered his soul; 

A lighter, livelier prelude ran, 

Ere thus his tale again began. 



CANTO THIED 



And said I that my limbs were old, 
And said I that my blood was cold, 
And that my °kindly fire was fled, 
And my poor withered heart was dead, 

And that I might not sing of love ? — 5 

How could I to the dearest theme 
That ever warmed a minstrel's dream, 

So foul, so false a °recreant prove ? 
How could I name love's very name, 
Nor wake my heart to notes of flame ? 10 

11 

In peace, Love tunes the shepherd's °reed 5 

In war, he mounts the warrior's °steed ; 

In halls, in gay attire is seen ; 

In hamlets, dances on the green. 

Love rules the court, the camp, the grove, 15 

And men below, and saints above ; 

For love is heaven, and heaven is love. 

in 

So thought Lord Cranstoun, as I ween, 
While, pondering deep the tender scene, 
He rode through Branksome's hawthorn green. 20 
35 



36 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

But the page shouted wild and shrill, 

And scarce his helmet could he don, 
When downward from the shady hill 

A stately knight came °pricking on. 
That warrior's steed, so dapple-gray, 25 

Was dark with sweat and splashed with clay, 

His armor red with many a stain : 
He seemed in such a weary plight, 
As if he had ridden the livelong night ; 

For it was William of Deloraine. 30 



IV 

But no whit weary did he seem, 

When, dancing in the sunny beam, 

He marked the crane on the Baron's °crest ; 

For his ready spear was in his rest, 

Few were the words, and stern and high, 35 

That marked the f oemen's feudal hate ; 
For question fierce and proud reply 

Gave signal soon of dire °debate. 
Their very coursers seemed to know 
That each was other's mortal foe, 40 

And snorted fire when wheeled around 
To give each knight his vantage-ground. 



In rapid round the Baron bent ; 

He sighed a sigh and prayed a prayer ; 
The prayer was to his patron saint, 45 

The sigh was to his ladye fair. 
Stout Deloraine nor sighed nor prayed, 
Nor saint nor ladye called to aid ; 



Canto III] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 37 

But he stooped his head, and °couched his spear, 
And spurred his steed to full career. 5 o 

The meeting of these champions proud 
Seemed like the bursting thunder-cloud. 



VI 

Stern was the °dint the Borderer °lent ! 

The stately Baron backwards bent, 

Bent backwards to his horse's tail, 55 

And his plumes went scattering on the gale; 

The tough ash spear, so stout and true, 

Into a thousand flinders flew. 

But Cranstoun's lance, of more avail, 

Pierced through, like silk, the Borderer's mail ; 60 

Through shield and °jack and °acton passed, 

Deep in his bosom broke at last. 

Still sate the warrior saddle-fast, 

Till, stumbling in the mortal shock, 

Down went the steed, the girthing broke, 65 

Hurled on a °heap lay man and horse. 

The Baron onward passed his course, . 

Nor knew — so giddy rolled his brain — 

His foe lay stretched upon the plain. 

VII 

But when he reined his courser round, 70 

And saw his foeman on the ground 

Lie senseless as the bloody clay, 
He bade his page to stanch the wound, 

And there beside the warrior stay, 
And tend him in his doubtful state, 75 

And lead him to Branksome castle-gate : 



38 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

His noble mind was inly moved 

For the kinsman of the maid he loved. 

" This shalt thou do without delay : 

No longer here myself may stay ; 80 

Unless the swifter I speed away, 

Short °shrift will be at my dying day." 



VIII 

Away in speed Lord Cranstoun rode; 

The Goblin Page behind abode ; 

His lord's command he ne'er withstood, 85 

Though small his pleasure to do good. 

As the corselet off he took, 

The dwarf espied the Mighty Book ! 

Much he marvelled a knight of pride 

Like a book-bosomed °priest should ride : 90 

He thought not to search or stanch the wound 

Until the secret he had found. 



IX 

The iron band, the iron clasp, 

Eesisted long the elfin grasp ; 

For when the first he had undone, 95 

It closed as he the next begun. 

Those iron clasps, that iron band, 

Would not yield to unchristened hand 

Till he smeared the cover o'er 

With the Borderer's curdled gore ; 100 

A moment then the volume spread, 

And one short °spell therein he read. 

It had much of °glamour might, 

Could make a ladye seem a knight, 



Canto III.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 39 

The cobwebs on a dungeon wall 105 

Seem tapestry in lordly hall, 

A nutshell seem a gilded barge, 

A °sheeling seem a palace large, 

And youth seem age, and age seem youth — 

All was delusion, nought was truth. no 



He had not read another spell, 

When on his cheek a buffet fell, 

So fierce, it stretched him on the plain 

Beside the wounded Deloraine. 

From the ground he rose dismayed, 115 

And shook his huge and matted head ; 

One word he muttered and no more, 

" Man of age, thou smitest sore ! " 

No more the elfin page durst try 

Into the wondrous book to pry ; 120 

The clasps, though smeared with Christian gore, 

Shut faster than they were before. 

He hid it underneath his cloak. — 

Now, if you ask who gave the stroke, 

I cannot tell, so mot I °thrive ; 125 

It was not given by man alive. 

XI 

Unwillingly himself he addressed 

To do his master's high °behest : 

He lifted up the living corse, 

And laid it on the weary horse ; 130 

He led him into Branksome Hall 

Before the beards of the warders °all, 



40 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL [Canto III. 

And each did after swear and say 

There only passed a °wain of hay. 

He took him to Lord David's tower, 135 

Even to the Ladye's secret bower ; 

And, but that stronger spells were spread, 

And the door might not be opened, 

He had laid him on her very bed. 

Whatever he did of °gramarye 140 

Was always done maliciously ; 

He flung the warrior on the ground, 

And the blood welled freshly from the wound. 



XII 

As he repassed the outer court, 

He spied the fair young child at sport : 145 

He thought to °train him to the wood ; 

For, at a word, be it understood, 

He was always for ill, and never for good. 

Seemed to the boy some comrade gay 

Led him forth to the woods to play ; 150 

On the drawbridge the warders stout 

Saw a terrier and °lurcher passing out. 



XIII 

He led the boy o'er bank and fell, 

Until they came to a woodland brook ; 

The running stream dissolved the °spell, 155 

And his own elfish shape he took. 

Could he have had his pleasure °vilde, 

He had crippled the joints of the noble child, 

Or, with his fingers long and lean, 

Had strangled him in fiendish °spleen: 160 



Canto III.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 41 

But his awful °mother he had in dread, 

And also his power was limited ; 

So he but scowled on the startled child, 

And darted through the forest wild ; 

The woodland brook he bounding crossed, 165 

And laughed, and shouted, " Lost ! lost ! lost ! " 

XIV 

Full sore amazed at the wondrous change, 

And frightened, as a child might be, 
At the wild yell and visage strange, 

And the dark words of gramarye, 170 

The child, amidst the forest bower, 
Stood rooted like a lily flower ; 
And when at length, with trembling pace, 

He sought to find where Branksome lay, 
He feared to see that °grisly face 175 

Glare from some thicket on his way. 
Thus, starting oft, he journeyed on, 
And deeper in the wood is gone, — 
For aye the more he sought his way, 
The farther still he went astray, — 180 

Until he heard the mountains round 
Ring to the baying of a hound. 

xv 

And hark ! and hark ! the deep-mouthed bark 

Comes nigher still and nigher ; 
Bursts on the path a dark bloodhound, 185 

His tawny muzzle tracked the ground, 

And his red eye shot tire. 
Soon as the °wildered child saw he, 
He flew at him right °i'uriouslie. 



42 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

I ween you would have seen with joy 190 

The bearing of the gallant boy, 

When, worthy of his noble sire, 

His wet cheek glowed 'twixt fear and ire ! 

He faced the bloodhound manfully, 

And held his little °bat on high ; 195 

So fierce he struck, the dog, afraid, 

At cautious distance hoarsely bayed, 

But still in act to spring ; 
When dashed an archer through the glade, 
And when he saw the hound was stayed, 200 

He drew his tough bowstring ; 
But a rough voice cried, " Shoot not, hoy ! 
Ho ! shoot not, Edward, — 'tis a boy ! " 



XVI 

The speaker issued from the wood, 

And checked his °fellow's surly mood, 205 

And quelled the ban-dog's ire : 
He was an English yeoman good 

And born in Lancashire. 
Well could he hit a fallow-deer 

Five hundred feet him °fro ; 210 

With hand more true and eye more clear 

No archer bended bow. 
His coal-black hair, shorn round and close, 

Set off his sun-burned face ; 
Old England's sign, Saint George's cross, 215 

His °barret-cap did grace ; 
His bugle-horn hung by his side, 
All in a wolf -skin baldric tied ; 
And his short falchion, sharp and clear, 
Had pierced the throat of many a deer. 220 



Canto III.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 43 

XVII 

His °kirtle, made of forest green, 

Reached scantly to his knee ; 
And, at his belt, of arrows keen 

A furbished sheaf bore he ; 
His buckler scarce in breadth a °span, 225 

No longer °fence had he ; 
He never counted him a °man, 

Would strike below the knee : 
His slackened bow was in his hand, 
And the leash that was his bloodhound's band. 230 

XVIII 

He would not do the fair child harm, 

But held him with his powerful arm, 

That he might neither fight nor flee ; 

For when the red cross spied he, 

The boy strove long and violently. 235 

" Now, by Saint George," the archer cries, 

" Edward, methinks we have a prize ! 

This boy's fair face and courage free 

Show he is come of high degree." 

XIX 

" Yes ! I am come of high degree, 240 

For I am the heir of bold Buccleuch ; 

And, if thou dost not set me free, 

False Southron, thou shalt dearly rue ! 

For Walter of Harden shall come with speed, 

And William of Deloraine, good at need, 245 

And every Scot from Esk to Tweed ; 

And, if thou dost not let me go, 



44 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

Despite thy arrows and thy bow, 

I'll have thee hanged to feed the crow ! n 



xx 

" °Gramercy for thy good- will, fair boy ! 250 

My mind was never set so high ; 
But if thou art chief of such a clan, 
And art the son of such a man, 
And ever comest to thy °command, 

Our °wardens had need to keep good order : 255 
My bow of yew to a hazel °wand, 

Thou'lt make them work upon the Border ! 
Meantime, be pleased to come with me, 
For good Lord Dacre shalt thou see; 
I think our work is well begun, 260 

When we have taken thy father's son." 

XXI 

Although the child was led away, 

In Branksome still he seemed to stay, . 

For so the Dwarf his part did play; 

And, in the shape of that young boy, 265 

He wrought the castle much annoy. 

The comrades of the young Buccleuch 

He pinched and beat and overthrew ; 

Xay, some of them he well-nigh slew. 

He tore Dame Maudlin's silken °tire, 270 

And, as Sym Hall stood by the fire, 

He lighted the match of his °bandelier, 

And wofully scorched the °hackbuteer. 

It may be hardly thought or said, 

The mischief that the urchin made, 275 



Canto III.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 45 

Till many of the castle guessed 
That the young baron was possessed ! 



XXII 

Well I ween the charm he held 

The noble Ladye had soon °dispelled, 

But she was deeply busied then 280 

To tend the wounded Deloraine. 

Much she wondered to find him lie 

On the stone threshold stretched along : 
She thought some spirit of the sky 

Had done the bold moss-trooper wrong, 285 

Because, despite her precept °dread, 
Perchance he in the book had read ; 
But the broken lance in his bosom stood, 
And it was earthly steel and wood. 



XXIII 

She drew the splinter from the wound, 290 

And with a charm she stanched the blood. 

She bade the gash be cleansed and bound : 
No longer by his couch she °stood ; 

But she has ta'en the broken lance, 

And washed it from the clotted gore, 295 

And salved the splinter o'er and o'er. 

William of Deloraine, in trance, 

Whene'er she turned it round and round, 

Twisted as if she galled his wound. 

Then to her maidens she did say, 300 

That he should be whole man and sound 
Within the course of a night and day. 



46 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

Full long she toiled, for she did rue 
Mishap to friend so stout and true. 



XXIV 

So passed the day — the evening fell, 305 

'Twas near the time of curfew bell ; 

The air was mild, the wind was calm, 

The stream was smooth, the dew was balm ; 

E'en the rude watchman on the tower 

Enjoyed and blessed the lovely hour. 310 

Far more fair Margaret loved and blessed 

The hour of silence and of rest. 

On the high turret sitting lone, 

She waked at times the lute's soft tone, 

Touched a wild note, and all between 315 

Thought of the bower of hawthorns green. 

Her golden hair streamed free from band, 

Her fair cheek rested on her hand, 

Her blue eyes sought the west afar, 

For lovers love the western star. 320 



XXV 

Is yon the star, o'er Penchryst °Pen, 

That rises slowly to her °ken, 

And, spreading broad its wavering light, 

Shakes its loose tresses on the night ? 

Is yon red glare the western star ? — 325 

0, 'tis the beacon-blaze of war ! 

Scarce could she draw her tightened breath, 

For well she knew the fire of °death ! 



Canto III.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 47 

XXVI 

The warder viewed it blazing strong, 

And blew his war-note loud and long, 330 

Till, at the high and haughty sound, 

Eock, wood, and river rung around. 

The blast alarmed the festal hall, 

And startled forth the warriors all ; 

Far downward in the castle-yard 335 

Full many a torch and °cresset glared, 

And helms and plumes, confusedly tossed, 

Were in the blaze half seen, half lost; 

And - spears in wild disorder shook, 

Like reeds beside a frozen brook. 340 

XXVII 

The °seneschal, whose silver hair 

Was reddened by the torches' glare, 

Stood in the midst, with gesture proud, 

And issued forth his mandates loud : 

" On Penchryst glows a °bale of fire, 345 

And three are kindling on °Priesthaughswire ; 

Ride out, ride out, 

The foe to scout ! 
Mount, mount for °Branksome, every man! 
Thou, Todrig, warn the Johnstone clan, 350 

That ever are true and stout. 
Ye need not send to Liddesdale, 
For when they see the blazing bale 
Elliots and Armstrongs never fail. — 
Ride, Alton, ride, for death and life, 355 

And warn the warden of the strife ! — 
Young Gilbert, let our beacon blaze, 
Our kin and clan and friends to raise ! " 



48 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Canto III. 

XXVIII 

Fair Margaret from the turret head 

Heard far below the coursers' tread, 360 

While loud the harness rung, 
As to their seats with clamor dread 

The ready horsemen sprung : 
And trampling hoofs, and iron coats, 
And leaders' voices, mingled notes, 365 

And out ! and out ! 
In hasty rout, 

The horsemen galloped forth; 
Dispersing to the south to scout, 

And east, and west, and north, 370 

To view their coming enemies, 
And warn their °vassals and allies. 

XXIX 

The ready page with hurried hand 
Awaked the °need-fire's slumbering brand, 

And ruddy blushed the heaven ; 375 

For a sheet of flame from the turret high 
Waved like a blood-flag on the sky, 

All flaring and uneven. 
And soon a score of fires, I ween, 
From height and hill and cliff were seen, 380 

Each with warlike tidings fraught ; 
Each from each the signal caught ; 
Each after each they glanced to sight, 
As stars arise upon the night. 

They gleamed on many a dusky °tarn, 385 

Haunted by the lonely °earn ; 
On many a cairn's gray °pyramid, 
Where urns of mighty chiefs lie hid ; 



Canto III.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 49 

Till high Dunedin the blazes saw 

From °Soltra and Dumpender °Law, 390 

And °Lothian heard the °Regent's order 

That all should °bowne them for the Border. 



XXX 

The livelong night in Branksome rang 

The ceaseless sound of steel ; 
The castle-bell with backward clang 395 

Sent forth the larum peal. 
Was frequent heard the heavy jar, 
Where massy stone and iron bar 
Were piled on echoing °keep and tower, 
To whelm the foe with deadly °shower ; 400 

Was frequent heard the changing guard, 
And watchword from the sleepless ward ; 
While, wearied by the endless din, 
Bloodhound and ban-dog yelled within. 

XXXI 

The noble dame, amid the broil, 405 

Shared the gray seneschal's °high toil, 

And spoke of danger with a smile, 

Cheered the young knights, and council sage 

Held with the chiefs of riper age. 

No tidings of the foe were brought, 410 

Nor of his numbers knew they aught, 

Nor what in time of truce he sought. 

Some said that there were thousands ten ; 
And others weened that it was nought 

But Leven °Clans or Tynedale °men, 415 

Who came to gather in black-mail ; 



50 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

And Liddesdale, with small avail, 

Might drive them lightly back agen. 
So passed the anxious night away, 
And welcome was the peep of day. 420 



Ceased the high sound — the listening throng 

Applaud the Master of the Song ; 

And marvel much, in helpless age, 

So hard should be his pilgrimage. 

Had he no friend — no daughter dear, 425 

His wandering toil to share and cheer ? 

No son to be his father's stay, 

And guide him on the rugged way ? 

" Ay, once he had — but he was dead ! " — 

Upon the harp he stooped his head, 430 

And busied himself the strings withal, 

To hide the tear that fain would fall. 

In solemn measure, soft and slow, 

Arose a father's notes of woe. 



CANTO FOURTH 



Sweet Teviot ! on thy silver tide 

The glaring bale-fires blaze no more ; 
No longer steel-clad warriors ride 

Along thy wild and willowed shore ; 
Where'er thou wind'st by dale or hill, 5 

All, all is peaceful, all is still, 

As if thy waves, since time was born, 
Since first they rolled upon the °Tweed, 
Had only heard the shepherd's reed, 

Nor startled at the bugle-horn. 10 

11 

Unlike the tide of human time, 

Which, though it change in ceaseless flow, 
Retains each grief, retains each crime, 

Its earliest course was doomed to know, 
And, darker as it downward bears, 15 

Is stained with past and present tears. 

Low as that tide has ebbed with me, 
It still reflects to memory's eye 
The hour my brave, my only boy 

Fell by the side of great °Dimdee. 20 

Why, when the volleying musket played 
Against the bloody Highland blade, 
Why was not 1 beside him laid ? — 
51 



52 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Ca^to IV. 

Enough — he died the death of fame : 

Enough — he died with conquering Graeme. 25 



in 

Xow over Border dale and fell 

Full wide and far was terror spread ; 
For pathless marsh and mountain "cell 

The peasant left his lowly shed. 
The frightened flocks and herds were pent 30 

Beneath the peel's rude battlement: 
And maids and matrons dropped the tear, 
While ready warriors seized the spear. 
From Branksoine's towers the watchman's eye 
Dun wreaths of distant smoke can spy, 35 

Which, curling in the rising sun, 
Showed Southern "ravage was begun. 



IV 

Xow loud the heedful gate-ward cried : 
u Prepare ye all for blows and blood ! 
Watt Tinlinn, from the Liddel-side, 40 

)mes wading through the "flood. 
Full oft the Tynedale °snatchers knock 
At his lone gate and °prove the lock ; 
It was but last Saint c Barnabright 
They sieged him a whole summer night. 45 

But fled at morning: well they knew. 
In vain he never twanged the °yew. 
Eight sharp has been the evening shower 
That drove him from his Liddel tower : 
And, by my faith," the gate-ward said. 50 

u I think 'twill prove a "Warden-Raid." 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 53 



While thus he spoke, the bold yeoman 

Entered the echoing barbican. 

He led a small and shaggy nag, 

That through a bog, from °hag to hag, 55 

Could bound like any Eillhope °stag. 

It bore his wife and children twain ; 

A half -clothed serf was all their train : 

His wife, stout, ruddy, and dark-browed, 

Of silver brooch and bracelet proud, 60 

Laughed to her friends among the crowd. 

He was of stature passing tall, 

But sparely formed and lean withal : 

A battered °morion on his brow ; 

A leathern °jack, as fence °enow, 65 

On his broad shoulders loosely hung ; 

A Border axe behind was slung; 

His spear, six Scottish °ells in length, 
Seemed newly dyed with gore ; 

His shafts and bow, of wondrous strength, 70 

His hardy partner bore. 

VI 

Thus to the Ladye did Tin linn show 

The tidings of the English foe : 

" Belted Will Howard is marching here, 

And hot Lord Dacre, with many a spear, 75 

And all the German °hackbut-men 

Who have long lain at Askerten. 

They crossed the Liddel at curfew hour, 

And burned my little lonely tower — 

The fiend receive their souls therefor ! 80 

It had not been burnt this year and more. 



54 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

Barnyard and dwelling, blazing bright, 

Serve to guide me on my flight, 

But I was chased the livelong night. 

Black John of Akeshaw and Fergus Graeme 85 

Fast upon my traces came, 

Until I turned at Priesthaugh °Scrogg, 

And shot their horses in the bog, 

Slew Fergus with my lance outright — 

I had him long at high °despite ; 90 

He drove my cows last °Fastern's night." 



VII 

Now weary scouts from Liddesdale, 
Fast hurrying in, confirmed the tale ; 
As far as they could judge by °ken, 

Three hours would bring to Teviot's strand 95 

Three thousand armed Englishmen. 

Meanwhile, full many a warlike band, 
From Teviot, Aill, and Ettrick °shade, 
Came in, their chiefs defence to aid. 
There was saddling and mounting in haste, 100 

There was pricking o'er moor and lea ; 
He that was last at the °trysting-place 

Was but lightly held of his gay ladye. 

VIII 

From fair Saint Mary's silver °wave, 

From dreary Gamescleuch's dusky °height, 105 
His ready lances °Thirlestane brave 

Arrayed beneath a banner bright. 
The tressured °fleur-de-luce he claims 
To wreathe his shield, since royal James, 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 55 

Encamped by Fala's mossy °wave, no 

The proud distinction grateful gave 

For faith mid feudal jars ; 
What °time, save Thirlestane alone, 
Of Scotland's stubborn barons none 

Would march to southern wars ; 115 

And hence, in fair remembrance worn, 
Yon sheaf of spears his crest has borne ; 
Hence his high motto shines revealed, 
" Eeady, aye ready," for the field. 



IX 

An aged °knight, to danger steeled, 120 

With many a moss-trooper, came on ; 
And, azure in a golden field, 
The stars and crescent graced his shield, 

Without the bend of Murdieston. 
Wide lay his lands round °Oakwood Tower, 125 

And wide round haunted °Castle-Ower ; 
High over Borth wick's mountain flood 
His wood-embosomed mansion stood ; 
In the dark glen, so deep below, 
The herds of plundered England low, 130 

His bold retainers' daily food, 
And bought with danger, blows, and blood. 
Marauding chief ! his sole delight 
The moonlight raid, the morning fight ; 
Not even the Flower of Yarrow's °charms 135 

In youth might tame his rage for arms ; 
And still in age he spurned at rest, 
And still his brows the helmet pressed, 
Albeit the blanched locks below 
Were white as Dinlay's spotless °snow. 140 



56 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

Five stately warriors drew the sword 

Before their father's band ; 
A braver knight than Harden' s lord 

Ne'er belted on a brand. 



Scotts of °Eskdale, a stalwart band, 145 

Came trooping down the °Todshawhill ; 

By the sword they won their land, 
And by the sword they hold it still. 

Hearken, Ladye, to the °tale 

How thy sires won fair Eskdale. 150 

Earl Morton was lord of that valley fair, 

The Beattisons were his vassals there. 

The earl was gentle and mild of °mood, 

The vassals were warlike and fierce and rude ; 

High of heart and haughty of word, 155 

Little they recked of a tame liege-lord, 

The earl into fair Eskdale came, 

Homage and °seigniory to claim : 

Of Gilbert the °Galliard a °heriot he sought, 

Saying, " Give thy best steed, as a vassal ought." 160 

" Dear to me is my bonny white steed, 

Oft has he helped me at pinch of need ; 

Lord and earl though thou be, I trow, 

I can rein Bucksfoot better than thou." 

Word on word gave fuel to fire, 165 

Till so high blazed the Beattison's ire, 

But that the earl the flight had ta'en, 

The vassals there their lord had slain. 

Sore he plied both whip and spur, 

As he urged his steed through Eskdale °muir : 170 

And it fell down a weary weight, 

Just on the threshold of Branksome gate. 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 57 

XI 

The earl was a wrathful man to see, 
Full fain avenged would he be. 

In haste to Brank some's lord he spoke, 175 

Saying, " Take these traitors to thy yoke ; 
For a °cast of hawks, and a purse of gold, 
All Eskdale I'll sell thee, to have and hold : 
Beshrew thy °heart, of the Beattisons' clan 
If thou leavest on Eske a landed man ! 180 

But spare Woodkerrick's lands alone, 
For he lent me his horse to escape upon." 
A glad man then was Branksome bold, 
Down he flung him the purse of gold ; 
To Eskdale soon he spurred amain, 185 

And with him five hundred riders has ta'en. 
He left his merrymen in the mist of the hill, 
And bade them hold them close and still ; 
And alone he wended to the plain, 
To meet with the Galliard and all his train. 190 

To Gilbert the Galliard thus he said : 
" Know thou me for thy liege-lord and head ; 
Deal not with me as with Morton tame, 
For Scotts play best at the roughest game. 
Give me in peace my heriot due, 195 

Thy bonnie white steed, or thou shalt rue. 
If my horn I three times wind, 
Eskdale shall long have the sound in mind." 

\ 

XII 

Loudly the Beattison laughed in scorn ; 

" Little care we for thy winded horn. 200 

Ne'er shall it be the Galliard's lot 

To yield his steed to a haughty Scott. 



58 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Canto IV. 

Wend thou to Branksome back on foot, 

With rusty spur and miry boot." 

°He blew his bugle so loud and hoarse 205 

That the dun deer started at far Craikcross ; 

He blew again so loud and clear, 

Through the gray mountain-mist there did lances 

appear ; 
And the third blast rang with such a din 
That the echoes answered from °Pentonn linn, 210 
And all his riders came lightly in. 
Then had you seen a gallant shock, 
When saddles were emptied and lances broke ! 
For each scornful word the Galliard had said 
A Beattison on the field was laid. 215 

His own good sword the chieftain drew, 
And he °bore the Galliard through and through ; 
Where the Beattisons' blood mixed with the rill, 
The Galliard 1 s °Haugh men call it still. 
The Scotts have scattered the Beattison clan, 220 

In Eskdale they left but one landed man. 
The valley of Eske, from the mouth to the source, 
Was lost and won for that bonny white horse. 

XIII 

Whitslade the Hawk, and Headshaw came, 

And warriors more than I may name ; 225 

From °Yarrow-cleugh to °Hindhaugh-swair, 

From Woodhouselie to Chester-glen, 
Trooped man and horse, and bow and spear; 

Their gathering word was °Bellenden. 
And better hearts o'er Border sod 230 

To siege or rescue never rode. 
The Ladye marked the aids come in, 

And high her heart of pride arose ; 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 59 

She bade her youthful son attend, 

That he might know his father's friend, 235 

And learn to face his foes : 
" The boy is ripe to look on war ; 

I saw him draw a cross-bow stiff, 
And his true arrow struck afar 

The raven's nest upon the cliff; 240 

The red cross on a Southern breast 
Is broader than the raven's nest : 
Thou, Whitslade, shall teach him his weapon to wield, 
And o'er him hold his father's shield." 

XIV 

Well may you think the wily page 245 

Cared not to face the Ladye sage. 

He counterfeited childish fear, 

And shrieked, and shed full many a tear, 

And moaned, and °plained in manner wild. 

The attendants to the Ladye told, 250 

Some fairy, sure, had changed the child, 

That °wont to be so free and bold. 
Then wrathful was the noble dame ; 
She blushed blood-red for very shame : 
" Hence ! ere the clan his °faintness view ; 255 

Hence with the weakling to Buccleuch ! — 
Watt Tinlinn, thou shalt be his guide 
To Rangleburn's lonely °side. — 
Sure, some fell fiend has cursed our line, 
That coward should e'ar be son of mine ! " 260 



xv 



A heavy task Watt Tinlinn had, 
To guide the ""counterfeited lad. 



60 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL [Canto IV. 

Soon as the palfrey felt the weight 

Of that ill-omened elfish freight, 

He bolted, sprung, and reared amain, 265 

Nor heeded bit nor curb nor reiu. 

It cost Watt Tinlinn °mickle toil 

To drive him but a Scottish mile ; 

But as a shallow brook they crossed, 
The elf, amid the running stream, 270 

His figure changed, like form in dream, 

And fled, and shouted, " Lost ! lost ! lost ! " 
Full fast the urchin ran and laughed, 
But faster still a cloth-yard °shaft 
Whistled from startled Tinlinn's yew, 275 

And pierced his shoulder through and through. 
Although the imp might not be slain, 
And though the wound soon healed again, 
Yet, as he ran, he yelled for pain ; 
And Watt of Tinlinn, much aghast, 280 

Rode back to Branksome fiery fast. 

XVI 

Soon on the hill's steep verge he stood, 
That looks o'er Branksome's towers and wood ; 
And martial murmurs from below 
Proclaimed the approaching Southern foe. 285 

Through the dark wood, in mingled tone, 
Were Border pipes and bugles blown ; 
The coursers' neighing he could ken, 
A measured tread of marching men; 
While broke at times the solemn hum, 290 

The °Almayn's sullen kettle-drum ; 
And banners tall, of crimson °sheen, 
Above the copse appear ; 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL 61 

And, glistening through the hawthorns green, 

Shine helm and shield and spear. 295 



XVII 

Light forayers first, to view the ground, 
Spurred their fleet coursers °loosely round ; 
Behind, in close array, and fast, 

The Kendal °archers, all in green, 
Obedient to the bugle blast, 300 

Advancing from the wood were seen. 
To back and guard the archer band, 
Lord Dacre's °billmen were at hand : 
A hardy race, on °Irthing bred, 

With kirtles w r hite and crosses red, 305 

Arrayed beneath the banner tall 
That streamed o'er Acre's conquered °wall ; 
And minstrels, as they marched in order, 
Played, " Noble Lord Dae re, he dwells on the Border." 



XVIII 

Behind the English bill and bow 310 

The mercenaries, firm and slow, 

Moved on to light in dark array, 
By Conrad led of Wolfenstein, 
Who brought the band from distant Rhine, 

And sold their blood for foreign pay. 315 

The camp their home, their law the sword, 
They knew no country, owned no lord : 
They were not armed like England's sons, 
But bore the °levin-darting guns ; 
Buff coats, all °frounced and broidered o'er, 320 

And °morsing-horns and scarfs they wore ; 



62 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

Each °better knee was bared, to aid 

The warriors in the °escalade ; 

All as they marched, in rugged tongue 

Songs of Teutonic feuds they sung. 325 



XIX 

But louder still the clamor grew, 

And louder still the minstrels blew, 

When, from beneath the greenwood tree, 

Eode forth Lord Howard's chivalry ; 

His men-at-arms, with °glaive and spear, 330 

Brought up the °battle's glittering rear. 

There many a youthful knight, full keen 

To gain his °spurs, in arms was seen, 

With °favor in his crest or glove, 

Memorial of his ladye-love. 335 

So rode they forth in fair array, 

Till full their lengthened lines display ; 

Then called a halt, and made a stand, 

And cried, " Saint George for merry England ! " 

xx 

Now every English eye intent 340 

On Branksome's armed towers was bent; 

So near they were that they might °know 

The straining harsh of each cross-bow; 

On battlement and °bartizan 

Gleamed axe and spear and °partisan ; 345 

°Falcon and °culver on each tower 

Stood prompt their deadly hail to shower ; 

And flashing armor frequent broke 

From eddying whirls of sable smoke, 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 63 

Where upon tower and turret head 350 

The seething pitch and molten °lead 

Reeked like a witch's °caldron red. 

While yet they gaze, the bridges fall, 

The wicket opes, and from the wall 

Rides forth the hoary seneschal. 355 

XXI 

Armed he rode, all save the head, 

His white beard o'er his breastplate spread 

Unbroke by age, erect his seat, 

He ruled his eager courser's gait, 

Forced him with chastened °fire to prance, 360 

And, high curvetting, slow advance : 

In sign of truce, his better °hand 

Displayed a peeled willow wand ; 

His squire, attending in the rear, 

Bore high a gauntlet on a °spear. 365 

When they espied him riding out, 

Lord Howard and Lord Dacre °stout 

Sped to the front of their array, 

To hear what this old knight should say. 

XXII 

" Ye English warden lords, of you 370 

Demands the Ladye of Buccleuch, 

Why, 'gainst the truce of Border °tide, 

In hostile guise ye dare to ride, 

With Kendal bow and Gilsland °brand, 

And all your mercenary band, 375 

Upon the bounds of fair Scotland ? 

My Ladye °reads you °swith return ; 

And, if but one poor straw you burn, 



64 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

Or do our towers so ranch molest 

As scare one swallow frora her nest, 3S0 

Saint Mary ! but we'll light a brand 

Shall warm your hearths in Cumberland." — 

XXIII 

A wrathful man was Daere's lord, 

But calmer Howard took the word : 

"May't please thy dame. Sir Seneschal, 385 

To seek the castle's outward wall, 

Our °pursuivant-at-arms shall show 

Both why we came and when we go." 

The message °sped, the noble dame 

To the wall's outward circle came ; 390 

Each chief around leaned on his spear, 

To see the pursuivant appear. 

All in Lord Howard's livery dressed, 

The lion °argent decked his breast ; 

He led a boy of blooming hue — 395 

sight to meet a mother's view ! 

It was the heir of great Buccleuch. 

Obeisance meet the herald made. 

And thus his master's will he said : 

XXIV 

" It °irks, high dame, my noble lords, 400 

'Gainst ladye fair to draw their swords; 

But yet they may not tamely see, 

All through the Western Wardenry, 

Your law-contemning kinsmen ride, 

And burn and spoil the Border-side ; 405 

And ill beseems your rank and birth 

To make vour towers a °flernens-firth. 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 65 

We claim from thee William of Deloraine, 

That he may suffer °m arch-treason pain. 

It was but last Saint Cuthbert's °even 410 

He pricked to Stapleton on Leven, 

°Harried the lands of Richard Musgrave, 

And slew his brother by dint of °glaive. 

Then, since a lone and widowed dame 

These restless riders may not tame, 415 

Either receive within thy towers 

Two hundred of my master's powers, 

Or straight they sound their °warrison, 

And storm and spoil thy garrison ; 

And this fair boy, to London led, 420 

Shall good King Edward's page be bred." 



XXV 

He ceased — and loud the boy did cry, 

And stretched his little arms on high, 

Implored for aid each well-known face, 

And strove to seek the dame's embrace. 425 

A moment changed that Ladye's °cheer, 

Gushed to her eye the unbidden tear ; 

She gazed upon the leaders round, 

And dark and sad each warrior frowned 5 

Then deep within her sobbing breast 430 

She locked the struggling sigh to rest, 

Unaltered and collected stood, 

And thus replied in dauntless mood : 

XXVI 

" Say to your lords of high °emprise 

Who war on women and on boys, 435 



66 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

That either William of Deloraine 

Will cleanse him by °oath of march-treason stain, 

Or else he will the combat take 

'Gainst Musgrave for his honors sake. 

No knight in Cumberland so °good 440 

Bat William may count with him kin and blood. 

Knighthood he °took of Douglas' sword, 

When English blood swelled Alteram °ford ; 

And but Lord Dacre's steed was ° wight, 

And bare him ably in the flight, 445 

Himself had seen him °dubbed a knight. 

°For the young heir of Branksome's line, 

God be his aid, and God be mine ! 

Through me no friend shall meet his doom ; 

Here, while I live, no foe finds room. 450 

Then, if thy lords their purpose urge, 

Take our defiance loud and high ; 
Our slogan is their lyke-wake °dirge, 

Our moat the grave where they shall lie." 

XXVII 

Proud she looked round, applause to claim — 455 
Then lightened Thirlestane's eye of flame; 

His bugle Wat of Harden blew ; 
°Pensils and pennons wide were flung, 
To heaven the Border slogan rung, 

" Saint Mary for the young Buccleuch ! " 460 

The English war-cry answered wide, 

And forward bent each Southern spear ; 
Each Kendal archer made a stride, 

And drew the bowstring to his ear ; 
Each minstrel's war-note loud was blown ; — 465 

But, ere a gray-goose °shaft had flown, 

A horseman galloped from the rear. 



Oanto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 67 

XXVIII 

" Ah ! noble lords ! " he breathless said, 

" What treason has your march betrayed ? 

What make you °here from aid so far, 470 

Before you walls, around you war ? 

Your foemen triumph in the thought 

That in the °toils the lion's caught. 

Already on dark °Ruberslaw 

The Douglas holds his °weapon-schaw ; 475 

The lances, waving in his train, 

Clothe the dun heath like autumn grain ; 

And on the Liddel's northern strand, 

To bar retreat to Cumberland, 

Lord Maxwell ranks his merrymen good 480 

Beneath the eagle and the °rood ; 

And Jedwood, Eske, and Teviotdale, 

Have to proud Angus come ; 
And all the Merse and Lauderdale 

Have risen with haughty Home. 485 

An exile from Northumberland, 

In Liddesdale I've wandered long, 
But still my heart was with merry England, 

And cannot °brook my country's wrong ; 
And hard I've spurred all night, to show 490 

The mustering of the coming foe." 

XXIX 

" And let them come ! " fierce Dacre cried ; 

" For soon yon crest, my father's pride, 

That swept the shores of Judah's sea, 

And waved in gales of Galilee, 495 

From Branksome's highest towers displayed, 

Shall mock the rescue's lingering aid ! — 



68 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

Level each °harquebuss on °row; 

Draw, merry archers, draw the bow ; 

Up, billmen, to the 'walls, and cry, 500 

Dacre for England, win or die ! " — 



XXX 

" Yet hear/' quoth Howard, " calmly hear, 

Nor deem my words the words of fear : 

For who, in field or foray slack, 

Saw the Blanche °Lion e'er fall back ? 505 

But thus to risk our Border flower 

In strife against a kingdom's power, 

Ten thousand Scots 'gainst thousands three, 

°Certes, were desperate policy. 

Nay, take the terms the Ladye made 510 

Ere conscious of the advancing aid : 

Let Musgrave meet fierce Deloraine 

In single fight, and if he gain, 

He gains for us ; but if he's crossed, 

'Tis but a single warrior lost: 515 

The rest, retreating as they came, 

Avoid defeat and death and shame." 

XXXI 

111 could the haughty Dacre brook 

His brother warden's sage rebuke ; 

And yet his forward step he stayed, 520 

And slow and sullenly obeyed. 

But ne'er again the Border side 

Did these two lords in friendship ride j 

And this slight discontent, men say, 

Cost blood upon another day. 525 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 69 

XXXII 

The pursuivant-at-arms again 

Before the castle took his stand ; 
His trumpet called with parleying strain 

The leaders of the Scottish band ; 
And he defied, in Musgrave's right, 530 

Stout Deloraine to single fight. 
A gauntlet at their feet he laid, 
And thus the terms of fight he said : 
" If in the lists good Musgrave's sword 

Vanquish the Knight of Deloraine, 535 

Your youthful chieftain, Branksome's lord, 

Shall hostage for his clan remain ; 
If Deloraine foil good Musgrave, 
The boy his liberty shall have. 

Howe'er it °falls, the English baud, 540 

Unharming Scots, by Scots unharmed, 
In peaceful march, like men unarmed, 

Shall °straight retreat to Cumberland." 



XXXIII 

Unconscious of the near relief, 

The proffer pleased each Scottish chief, 545 

Though much the Ladye sage °gainsaid ; 
For though their hearts were brave and true, 
From Jedwood's recent sack they knew 

How tardy was the Regent's aid : 
And you may guess the noble dame 550 

Durst not the secret °prescience own, 
Sprung from the art she might not name, 

By which the coming help was known. 
Closed was the compact, and agreed 



70 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

That °lists should be enclosed with speed 555 

Beneath the castle on a lawn : 
They fixed the morrow for the strife, 
On foot, with Scottish axe and knife, 

At the fourth hour from peep of dawn ; 
When Deloraine, from sickness freed, 560 

Or else a champion in his stead, 
Should for himself and chieftain stand 
Against stout Musgrave, hand to hand. 

XXXIV 

I know right well that in their lay 

Full many minstrels slug and say 565 

Such combat should be made on horse, 
On foaming steed, in full career, 
With brand to aid, °whenas the spear 

Should shiver in the course : 
But he, the jovial °harper, taught 570 

Me 3 yet a youth, how it was fought, 

In guise which now I say ; 
He knew each ordinance and clause 
Of Black Lord Archibald's °battle-laws, 

In the old Douglas' day. 575 

He brooked not, he, that scoffing tongue 
Should tax his minstrelsy with wrong, 

Or call his song untrue : 
For this, when they the goblet °plied, 
And such rude taunt had chafed his pride, 580 

The Bard of °Keull he slew. 
On Teviot's side in fight they stood, 
And tuneful hands were stained with blood, 
Where still the thorn's white branches wave, 
Memorial o'er his rival's grave. 585 



Canto IV.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 71 

XXXV 

Why should I tell the rigid doom 
That dragged my master to his tomb ; 

How Ousenam's °maidens tore their hair, 
Wept till their eyes were dead and dim, 
And wrung their hands for love of him 590 

Who died at Jedwood °Air ? 
He died! — his scholars, one by one, 
To the cold silent grave are gone ; 
And I, alas ! survive alone, 

To muse o'er rivalries of yore, 595 

And grieve that I shall hear no more 
The strains, with envy heard before ; 
For, with my minstrel brethren fled, 
My jealousy of song is dead. 



He paused : the listening dames again 600 

Applaud the hoary Minstrel's strain. 

With many a word of kindly cheer, — 

In pity half, and half sincere, — 

Marvelled the Duchess how so well 

His legendary song could tell 605 

Of ancient deeds, so long forgot ; 

Of feuds, whose memory was not; 

Of forests, now laid waste and bare ; 

Of towers, which harbor now the hare"; 

Of manners, long since changed and gone ; 610 

Of chiefs, who under their gray stone 

So long had slept that fickle Fame 

Had blotted from her rolls their name, 

And twined round some new °minion's head 

The fading wreath for which they bled : 615 



72 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

In sooth, 'twas strange this old man's verse 
Could call them from their marble °hearse. 

The harper smiled, well pleased ; for ne'er 

Was flattery lost on poet's ear. 

A simple race ! they waste their toil 620 

For the vain tribute of a smile ; 

E'en when in age their flame expires, 

Her °dulcet breath can fan its fires: 

Their drooping fancy wakes at praise, 

And strives to trim the short-lived blaze. 625 

Smiled then, well pleased, the aged man, 
And thus his tale continued ran. 



CANTO FIFTH 



Call it not vain : — they do not err, 

Who say that when the poet dies 
Mute Nature mourns her worshipper 

And celebrates his obsequies ; / 

Who say tall cliff and cavern lone 5 

For the departed bard make moan ; 
That mountains weep in crystal rill ; 
That flowers in tears of balm distil ; 
Through his loved groves that breezes sigh, 
And oaks in deeper groan reply, 10 

And rivers teach their rushing wave 
To murmur dirges round his grave. 

11 

Not that, in sooth, o'er mortal °urn 
Those things inanimate can mourn, 
But that the stream, the wood, the gale, 15 

Is vocal with the plaintive wail 
Of those who, else forgotten long, 
Lived in the poet's faithful song, 
And, with the poet's parting breath, 
Whose memory feels a second death. 20 

The maid's pale shade, who wails her lot, 
That love, true love, should be forgot, 
73 



74 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

From rose and hawthorn shakes the tear 
Upon the gentle minstrel's bier : 
The phantom knight, his glory fled, 25 

Mourns o'er the field he heaped with dead, 
Mounts the wild blast that sweeps amain 
And shrieks along the battle-plain ; 
The chief, whose antique °crownlet long 
/ Still sparkled in the feudal song, 31 

Now, from the mountain's misty throne, 
Sees, in the °thanedom once his own, 
His ashes undistinguished lie, 
His place, his power, his memory die ; 
His groans the lonely caverns fill, 35 

His tears of rage impel the °rill ; 
All mourn the minstrel's harp unstrung, 
Their name unknown, their praise unsung. 



in 

Scarcely the hot assault was stayed, 

The terms of truce were scarcely made, 40 

When they could spy, from Branksome's towers, 

The advancing march of martial pow r ers. 

Thick clouds of dust afar appeared, 

And trampling steeds were faintly heard ; 

Bright spears above the columns dun 45 

Glanced momentary to the sun ; 

And feudal banners fair displayed 

The bands that moved to Branksome's aid. 



IV 

Vails not to °tell each hardy clan, 

From the fair °Middle Marches came ; 50 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 75 

The °Bloocly Heart blazed in the van, 

Announcing Douglas, dreaded name ! 
Vails not to tell what steeds did °spurn, 
Where the Seven Spears of °Wedderburne 

Their men in battle-order set, 55 

And Swinton laid the lance in rest 
That tamed of yore the sparkling crest 

Of Clarence's °Plantagenet. 
Nor list I °say what hundreds more, 
From the rich Merse and Lamm erm ore, 60 

And Tweed's fair borders, to the war, 
Beneath the crest of °01d Dunbar 

And Hepburn's mingled banners, come 
Down the steep mountain glittering far, 

And shouting still, " A Home ! a °Home ! " 65 



Now squire and knight, from Branksome sent, 

On many a courteous message went: 

To every chief and lord they paid 

Meet thanks for prompt and powerful aid, 

And told them how a truce was made, 70 

And how a day of fight was °ta'en 

'Twixt Musgrave and stout Deloraine ; 

And how the Ladye prayed them °dear 
That all would stay the fight to see, 
And deign, in love and courtesy, 75 

To taste of Branksome °cheer. 
Nor, while they bade to feast each Scot, 
Were England's noble lords forgot. 
Himself, the hoary seneschal, 

Eode forth, in seemly terms to call 80 

Those gallant foes to Branksome Hall. 



76 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

Accepted Howard, than whom knight 

Was never dubbed, more bold in fight, 

Nor, when from war and armor free, 

More famed for stately courtesy; 85 

But angry Dacre rather chose 

In his pavilion to repose. 



VI 

Now, noble dame, perchance you ask 

How these two hostile armies met, 
Deeming it were no easy task 90 

To keep the truce which here was set ; 
Where martial spirits, all on fire, 
Breathed only blood and mortal ire. 
By mutual inroads, mutual blows, 
By habit, and by nation, foes, 95 

They met on Teviot's strand ; 
They met and sate them mingled down, 
Without a threat, without a frown, 

As brothers meet in foreign land : 
The hands, the spear that lately grasped, 100 

Still in the mailed gauntlet clasped, 

Were interchanged in greeting °dear ; 
Visors were raised and faces shown, 
And many a friend, to friend made known, 

Partook of social cheer. 105 

Some drove the jolly bowl °about; 

With dice and draughts some chased the day ; 
And some, with many a merry shout, 
In riot, revelry, and rout, 

Pursued the football °play. no 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 77 

VII 

Yet, be it known, had bugles blown 

Or sign of war been seen, 
Those bands, so fair together ranged, 
Those hands, so frankly interchanged, 

Had dyed with gore the green : 115 

The merry shout by Teviot-side 
Had sunk in war-cries wild and wide, 

And in the groan of death ; 
And ° whingers, now in friendship bare, 
The social meal to part and share, 120 

Had found a bloody sheath. 
'Twixt truce and war, such sudden change 
Was not infrequent, nor held strange, 

In the old Border-day ; 
But yet on Branksome's towers and town, 125 

In peaceful merriment, sunk down 

The sun's declining ray. 



VIII 

The blithesome signs of °wassail gay 

Decayed not with the dying day ; 

Soon through the latticed windows tall 130 

Of lofty Branksome's lordly hall, 

Divided square by shafts of stone, 

Huge flakes of ruddy lustre shone; 

Nor less the gilded rafters rang 

With merry harp and beakers' clang ; 135 

And frequent, on the darkening plain, 

Loud hollo, whoop, or whistle ran, 
As bands, their stragglers to regain, 

Give the shrill watchword of their clan ; 



78 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

And revellers, o'er their bowls, proclaim 140 

Douglas' or Dacre's conquering name. 



IX 

Less frequent heard, and fainter still, 

At length the various clamors died, 
And you might hear from Branksome hill 

Xo sound but Teviot's rushing tide ; 145 

Save when the changing sentinel 
The challenge of his watch could tell ; 
And save where, through the dark profound, 
The clanging axe and hammer's sound 
Rung from the °nether lawn ; 150 

For many a busy hand toiled there, 
Strong °pales to shape and beams to square, 
The lists' dread barriers to prepare 

Against the morrow's dawn. 



Margaret from hall did soon retreat, 155 

Despite the dame's reproving eye; 
Xor marked she, as she left her seat, 

Full many a stifled sigh: 
For many a noble warrior strove 
To win the Flower of Teviot's love, 160 

And many a bold ally. 
With throbbing head and anxious heart, 
All in her lonely bower apart, 

In broken sleep she lay. 
By °times, from silken couch she rose; 165 

While yet the bannered hosts repose, 

She viewed the dawning day : 



\S 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 79 

Of all the hundreds sunk to rest, 
First woke the loveliest and the best. 

XI 

She gazed upon the inner court, 170 

Which in the tower's tall shadow lay, 
Where coursers' clang and stamp and snort 

Had rung the livelong yesterday : 
Now still as death ; till stalking slow, — 

The jingling spurs announced his tread, — 175 

A stately warrior passed below ; 

But when he raised his plumed head — 
Blessed Mary ! can it be ? — 
Secure, as if in Ousenam °bowers, 
He walks through Branksome's hostile towers, 180 

With fearless step and free. 
She dared not sign, she dared not speak — 
O, if one page's slumbers break, 

His blood the price must pay ! 
Not all the pearls Queen Mary wears, 185 

Not Margaret's yet more precious tears, 

Shall buy his life a day. 

XII 

Yet was his hazard small ; for well 
You may bethink you of the spell 

Of that sly °urchin page : y 190 

This to his lord he did impart, 
And made him seem, by glamour art, 

A knight from °Hermitage. 
Unchallenged, thus, the warder's post, 
The court, unchallenged, thus he crossed, 195 

°For all the vassalage ; 



80 THE LAY OF THE LAST MlXSTREL [Canto V 

But 0, what magic's quaint disguise 
Could blind fair Margaret's azure eyes ! 

She started from her seat ; 
While with surprise and fear she strove, 200 

And both could scarcely master love — 

Lord Henry's at her feet. 

XIII 

Oft have I mused what purpose bad 
That foul malicious urchin had 

To bring this meeting round, 205 

For happy love's a heavenly sight, 
And by a vile malignant °sprite 

In such no joy is found; 
And oft I've deemed, perchance he thought 
Their erring passion might have wrought 210 

Sorrow and sin and shame, 
And death to Cranstoun's gallant Knight, 
And to the gentle Laclye bright 

Disgrace and loss of fame. 
But earthly spirit could not °tell 215 

The heart of them that loved so well. 
True love's the gift which God has given 
To man alone beneath the heaven : 
It is not fantasy's hot fire, 

Whose wishes, soon as granted, fly ; 220 

It liveth not in fierce desire, 

With dead desire it doth not die ; 
It is the secret sympathy, 
The silver link, the silken tie, 

Which heart to heart, and mind to mind, 225 

In body and in soul can bind. — 
Now leave we Margaret and her knight, 
To tell you of the approaching fight. 



Cajtto V.J THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 81 

XIV 

Their warning blasts the bugles blew, 

The pipe's shrill °port aroused each clan ; 230 

In haste the deadly strife to view, 

The trooping warriors eager ran : 
Thick round the lists their lances stood, j/ 

Like blasted pines in Ettrick wood ; 
To Branksome many a look they threw, 235 

The combatants' approach to view, 
And bandied many a word of boast 
About the knight each favored most. 

xv 
Meantime full anxious was the dame ; 
For now arose disputed claim 240 

Of who should fight for Deloraine, 
'Twixt Harden and ? twixt Thirlestane. 
They gan to reckon kin and rent, 
And frowning brow on brow was bent ; 

But yet not long the strife — for, lo ! y 245 

Himself, the Knight of Deloraine, 
Strong, as it seemed, and free from pain, 

In armor sheathed from top to toe, 
Appeared and °craved the combat due. 
The dame her charm successful knew, 250 

And the fierce chiefs their claims withdrew. 

xvi N 
When for the lists they sought the plain, 
The stately Ladye's silken rein 

Did noble Howard hold ; 
Unarmed by her side he walked, 255 

And much in courteous phrase they talked 

Of feats of arms of old. 



82 THE LA Y OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

Costly his garb — his Flemish ruff 
Fell o'er his doublet, shaped of °buff, 

With satin °slashed and lined ; 260 

Tawny his boot, and gold his spur, 
His cloak was all of Poland fur, 

His hose with silver twined; 
His Bilboa °blade, by Marchmen felt, 
Hung in a broad and studded belt ; 265 

Hence, in rude phrase, the Borderers still 
Called noble Howard Belted Will. 



XVII 

Behind Lord Howard and the dame 
Fair Margaret on her palfrey came, 

Whose °f ootcloth swept the ground ; 270 

White was her °wimple and her veil, 
And her loose locks a chaplet pale 

Of whitest roses bound ; t 

The lordly Angus, by her side, 

In courtesy to cheer her tried ; 275 

Without his aid, her hand in vain 
Had strove to guide her broidered rein. 
He deemed she shuddered at the sight 
Of warriors met for mortal fight ; 
But cause of °terror, all unguessed, 280 

Was fluttering in her gentle breast, 
When, in their chairs of crimson placed, 
The dame and she the °barriers graced. 

XVIII 

Prize of the field, the young Buccleuch 

An English knight led forth to view ; 285 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 83 

Scarce rued the boy his present plight, 

So much he longed to see the fight. 

Within the lists in knightly pride 

High Home and haughty Dacre ride; 

Their leading °stafTs of steel they wield, 290 

As marshals of the mortal °field, 

While to each knight their care assigned 

Like vantage of the sun and wind. ^ 

Then heralds hoarse did loud proclaim, v 

In King and Queen and Warden's name, 295 

That none, while lasts the strife, 
Should dare, by look or sign or word, 
Aid to a champion to afford, 

On peril of his life ; 
And not a breath the silence broke 300 

Till thus the alternate °heralds spoke : — 

XIX 
ENGLISH HERALD 

" Here standeth Richard of Musgrave, 

Good knight and true, and freely °born, 
Amends from Deloraine to crave, 

For foul despiteous °scathe and scorn. 305 

He sayeth that William of Deloraine 

Is traitor false by Border laws; 
This with his sword he will maintain, 

So help him God and his good cause ! " 

xx 

SCOTTISH HERALD 

" Here standeth William of Deloraine, 310 

Good knight and true, of noble "strain. 



84 . THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

Who sayeth that foul treason's stain, 
Since he bore arms, ne'er soiled his °coat ; 

And that, so help him God above ! 

He will on Musgrave's body prove 315 

He lies most foully in his throat." 



LORD DACRE 

" Forward, brave champions, to the fight ! 
Sound trumpets ! " 

LORD HOME 

" God defend the right ! " — 
Then, Teviot, how thine echoes rang, 
When bugle-sound and trumpet-clang 320 

Let loose the martial foes, 
And in mid-list, with shield poised high, 
And measured step and wary eye, 

The combatants did close ! 



XXI 

111 would it suit your gentle ear, 325 

Ye lovely listeners, to hear 

How to the axe the helms did sound, 

And blood poured down from many a wound ; 

For desperate was the strife and long, 

And either warrior fierce and strong. 330 

But, were each dame a listening knight, 

I well could tell how warriors fight ; 

For I have seen war's lightning flashing, 

Seen the °claymore with bayonet clashing, 

Seen through red blood the war-horse dashing, 335 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 85 

And scorned, amid the reeling strife, 
To yield a step for death or life. 



XXII 

'Tis done, 'tis done ! that fatal blow 
Has stretched him on the bloody plain ; 

He strives to rise — brave Musgrave, no ! 340 

Thence never shalt thou rise again ! 

He chokes in blood — some friendly hand 

Undo the visor's barred band, 

Unfix the °gorget's iron clasp, 

And give him room for life to gasp ! — - 345 

0, °bootless aid ! — haste, holy friar, 

Haste, ere the sinner shall expire ! 

Of all his gnilt let him be shriven, 

And smooth his path from earth to heaven ! 



XXIII 

In haste the holy friar sped; — 350 

His naked foot was dyed with red, 

As through the lists he ran ; 
Unmindful of the shouts on high 
That hailed the conqueror's victory, 

He raised the dying man ; 355 

Loose waved his silver beard and hair, 
As o'er him he kneeled down in prayer ; 
And °still the crucifix on high 
He holds before his darkening eye; 
And still he bends an anxious ear, 360 

His faltering penitence to hear; 

Still props hi 111 from the bloody sod, 



86 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 



Still, even when soul and body part, 
Pours °ghostly comfort on his heart, 

And bids him trust in God ! 
Unheard he prays ; — the death-pang's o'er ! 
Eichard of Musgrave breathes no more. 



365 



V 



XXIV 

As if exhausted in the fight, 
Or musing o'er the piteous sight, 

The silent victor stands ; 370 

His °beaver did he not unclasp, 
Marked not the shouts, felt not the grasp 

Of gratulating hands. 
When lo ! strange cries of wild surprise, 
Mingled with seeming terror, rise 375 

Among the Scottish bands ; 
And all, amid the thronged array, 
In panic haste gave open way 
To a half -naked ghastly man, 

Who downward from the castle ran : 380 

He crossed the barriers at a bound, 
And wild and haggard looked around, 

As dizzy and in pain ; 
And all upon the armed ground 

Knew William of Deloraine ! 385 

Each ladye sprung from seat with speed; 
Vaulted each marshal from his steed ; 

" And who art thou," they cried, 
" Who hast this battle fought and won ? " 
His plumed helm was soon undone — 390 

" Cranstoun of Teviot-side ! 
For this fair prize I've fought and won," — 
And to the Ladye led her son, 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 87 



xxv 



Full oft the rescued boy she kissed, 

And often pressed him to her breast, 395 

For, under all her dauntless show, 

Her heart had throbbed at every blow ; 

Yet not Lord Cranstoun °deigned she greet, 

Though low he kneeled at her feet. 

Me lists not tell what words were made, 400 

What Douglas, Home, and Howard said — 

For Howard was a generous foe — y/^ 

And how the clan united prayed 

The Ladye would the feud forego, 
And deign to bless the nuptial hour 405 

Of Cranstoun's lord and Teviot's Flower. 



XXVI 

She looked to river, looked to hill, 

Thought on the Spirit's °prophecy, 
Then broke her silence stern and still : 

" Not you, but Fate, has vanquished me ; 410 

Their influence kindly stars may °shower 
On Teviot's tide and Brank some's tower, 

^For pride is quelled and love is free." 
She took fair Margaret by the hand, 
Who, breathless, trembling, scarce might stand, 415 

That hand to Cranstoun's lord gave she : 
"As I am true to thee and thine, 
Do thou be true to me and mine ! 

This clasp of love our bond shall be, 
For this is your betrothing day, 420 

And all these noble lords shall stay, 

To grace it with their company." 



88 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

XXVII 

All as they left the listed plain, 

Much of the story she did gain : 

How Cranstoun fought with Deloraine, 425 

And of his page, and of the book 

Which from the wounded knight he took ; 

And how he sought her castle high, 

That morn, by help of gramarye ; 

How, in Sir William's armor °dight, 430 

Stolen by his page, while slept the knight, 

He took on him the single fight. 

Bat half his tale he left unsaid, 

And lingered till he joined the maid. — 

Cared not the Ladye to betray 435 

Her mystic arts in view of day ; 

But well she thought, ere midnight came, 

Of that strange page the pride to tame, 

From his foul hands the book to save, 

And send it back to Michael's grave. — 440 

Needs not to tell each tender word 

'Twixt Margaret and 'twixt Cranstoun's lord ; 

Nor how she told of former woes, 

And how her bosom fell and rose 

While he and Musgrave bandied blows. — 445 

Needs not these lovers' joys to tell; 

One day, fair maids, you'll know them well. 



XXVIII 

William of Deloraine some chance 
Had wakened from his deathlike trance, 

And taught that in the listed plain 450 

Another, in his arms and shield, 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 89 

Against fierce Musgrave axe did wield, 

Under the name of Deloraine. 
Hence, to the held unarmed he ran, 
And hence his presence scared the clan, 455 

Who held him for some fleeting ° wraith, 
And not a man of blood and breath. 
Not much this new ally he loved, 
Yet, when he saw what hap had °proved, 

He greeted him right heartile : 460 

He would not waken old debate, 
For he was void of rancorous hate, 

Though rude and scant of courtesy ; 
In raids he spilt but seldom blood, 
Unless when men-at-arms withstood, 465 

Or, as was meet, for deadly feud. 
He ne'er bore grudge for stalwart blow, 
Ta'en in fair fight from gallant foe. 
And so 'twas seen of him e'en now, 

When on dead Musgrave he looked down : 470 

Grief darkened on his rugged brow, 

Though half disguised with a frown ; 
And thus, while sorrow bent his head, 
His foeman's epitaph he made : 

XXIX 

" Now, Richard Musgrave, liest thou here, 475 

I ween, my deadly enemy ; 
For, if I slew thy brother dear, 

Thou slew'st a sister's son to me ; 
And when I lay in dungeon dark 

Of Naworth Castle long months three, 480 

Till ransomed for a thousand °mark, 

Dark Musgrave, it was long of °thee. 



90 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Canto V. 

And, Musgrave, could our fight be tried, 

And thou wert now alive, as I, 
No mortal man should us divide, 485 

Till one, or both of us, did die : 
Yet rest thee God ! for well I know 
I ne'er shall find a nobler foe. 
In all the northern counties here, 
Whose word is Snaffle, spur, and °spear, 490 

Thou wert the best to follow °gear. 
'Twas pleasure, as we looked behind, 
To see how thou the chase couldst wind, 
Cheer the dark °bloodhound on his way, 
And with the bugle rouse the fray ! 495 

I'd give the lands of Deloraine, 
Dark Musgrave were alive again. " 



XXX 

So mourned he till Lord Dacre's band 

Were °bowning back to Cumberland. 

They raised brave Musgrave from the field 500 

And laid him on his bloody shield ; 

On levelled lances, four and four, 

By turns, the noble burden bore. 

Before, at times, upon the gale 

Was heard the Minstrel's plaintive wail ; 505 

Behind, four priests in °sable °stole 

Sung requiem for the warrior's soul ; 

Around, the horsemen slowly rode ; 

With trailing pikes the spearmen trode ; 

And thus the gallant knight they bore 510 

Through Liddesdale to Leven's shore, 

Thence to Holme Coltrame's lofty °nave, 

And laid him in his father's grave. 



Canto V.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 91 

The harp's wild notes, though hushed the song, 

The mimic march of death prolong; 515 

Now seems it far, and now a-near, 

Now meets, and now eludes the ear, 

Now seems some mountain side to sweep, 

Now faintly dies in valley deep, 

Seems now as if the Minstrel's wail, 520 

Now the sad requiem, loads the gale ; 

Last, o'er the warrior's closing grave, 

Rung the full choir in choral °stave. 

After due pause, they bade him tell 

Why he, who touched the harp so well, 525 

Should thus, with ill-rewarded toil, . 

Wander a poor and thankless °soil, 

When the more generous Southern Land 

Would well requite his skilful hand. 

The aged harper, howsoe'er 530 

His only friend, his harp, was dear, 

Liked not to hear it ranked so high 

Above his flowing poesy : 

Less liked he still that scornful jeer 

°Misprized the land he loved so dear ; 535 

High was the sound as thus again 

The bard resumed his minstrel strain. 



CANTO SIXTH 



Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, 
Who never to himself hath said, 

This is my own, my native land ? 
/ Whose heart hath ne'er within him burned, 

As home his footsteps he hath turned 5 

From wandering on a foreign strand ? 
If such there breathe, go, mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell ; 
High though his titles, proud his name, 
Boundless his wealth as wish can claim, — 10 

Despite those titles, power, and pelf, 
The wretch, concentred all in self, 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And, doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 15 

Unwept, unhonored, and unsung. 

ii 

°Caledonia, stern and wild, 
Meet nurse for a poetic child ! 
Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 
Land of the mountain and the flood, * 20 

Land of my sires ! what mortal hand 
Can e'er untie the filial band 
That knits me to thy rugged strand ! 
92 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 93 

Still, as I view each well-known scene, 

Think what is now and what hath been, 25 

Seems °as to me, of all bereft, 

Sole friends thy woods and streams were left; 

And thus I love them better still, 

Even in extremity of ill. 

By Yarrow's °stream still let me stray, 30 

Though none should guide my feeble way ; 

Still feel the breeze down Ettrick break, 

Although it chill my withered cheek ; 

Still lay my head by °Teviot-stone, 

Though there, forgotten and alone, 35 

The bard may draw his parting groan. 

in 

Not scorned like me, to Branksome Hall 

The minstrels came at festive call; 

Trooping they came from near and far, 

The jovial priests of mirth and war ; 40 

Alike for feast and fight prepared, 

Battle and banquet both they shared. 

Of late, before each martial clan 

They blew their death-note in the van, 

But now for every merry mate 45 

Eose the portcullis' iron gate ; 

They sound the pipe, they strike the string, 

They dance, they revel, and they sing, 

Till the rude turrets shake and ring. 

IV 

Me lists not at this °tide declare 50 

The splendor of the spousal °rite, 
How mustered in the chapel fair 

Both maid and matron, squire and knight; 



94 THE LAY OF THE LAST MWSTREL [Canto VI. 

Me lists not tell of °owches rare. 

Of mantles green, and braided hair, 55 

And kirtles furred with °rainiver ; 

What plumage waved the altar round, 

How spurs and ringing chainlets sound : 

And hard it were for bard to speak 

The changeful hue of Margaret's cheek, 60 

That lovely hue which comes and flies, 

As awe and shame alternate rise ! 

v 

Some bards have sung, the Ladye high 

Chapel or altar came not nigh, 

Nor durst the rites of spousal grace, 65 

So much she feared each holy place. 

False slanders these : — I trust right well, 

She wrought not by forbidden spell, 

For mighty words and signs have power 

O'er sprites in planetary °hour ; 70 

Yet scarce I praise their venturous part 

Who tamper with such dangerous art. 

But this for faithful truth I say, — 

The Ladye by the altar stood, 
Of sable velvet her array, : - : 

And on her head a crimson hood, 
With pearls embroidered and entwined, 
°Guarded with gold, with ermine lined ; 
A °merlin sat upon her wrist, 
Held by a leash of silken twist. So 

VI 

The spousal rites were ended soon ; 
Twas now the merry hour of noon, 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 95 

And in the lofty arched hall 

Was spread the gorgeous festival. 

Steward and squire, with heedful haste, 85 

Marshalled the rank of every guest; 

Pages, with ready blade, were there, 

The mighty meal to carve and share : 

O'er capon, °heron-shew, and crane, 

And princely peacock's gilded °train, 90 

And o'er the °boar-head, garnished °brave, 

And °cygnet from Saint Mary's wave, 

O'er °ptarmigan and venison, 

The priest had spoke his °benison. 

Then rose the riot and the din, 95 

Above, beneath, without, within ! 

For, from the lofty balcony, 

Rung trumpet, °shalm, and °psaltery : 

Their clanging bowls old warriors quaffed, 

Loudly they spoke and loudly laughed ; 100 

Whispered young knights, in tone more mild, 

To ladies fair, and ladies smiled. 

The hooded °hawks, high perched on beam, 

The clamor joined with whistling scream, 

And flapped their wings and shook their °bells, 105 

In concert with the stag-hounds' yells. 

Round go the flasks of ruddy wine, 

From Bourdeaux, Orleans, or the Rhine ; 

Their tasks the busy °sewers ply, 

And all is mirth and revelry. no 



VII 

The Goblin Page, omitting still 
No opportunity of ill, 



96 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

Strove now, while blood ran hot and high, 

To rouse debate and jealousy ; 

Till Conrad, Lord of Wolfenstein, 115 

By nature fierce, and warm with wine, 

And now in humor highly crossed 

About some steeds his band had lost, 

High words to words succeeding still, 

Smote with his gauntlet stout Hunthill, 120 

A hot and hardy Rutherford, 

Whom men called Dickon Draw-the-Sword. 

He took it on the page's saye, 

Hunthill had driven these steeds away. 

Then Howard, Home, and Douglas rose, 125 

The kindling discord to compose ; 

Stern Rutherford right little said, 

But bit his °glove and shook his head. 

A fortnight thence, in Inglewood, 

Stout Conrad, cold, and drenched in blood, 130 

His bosom gored with many a wound, 

Was by a woodman's °lyme-dog found : 

Unknown the manner of his death, 

Gone was his brand, both sword and sheath ; 

But ever from that time, 'twas said, 135 

That Dickon wore a Cologne °blade. 



VIII 

The dwarf, who feared his master's eye 

Might his foul treachery espie, 

Now sought the castle °buttery, 

Where many a yeoman, bold and free, 140 

Revelled as merrily and well j| > 

As those that sat in lordly °selle. 

Watt Tin linn there did frankly raise 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 97 

The pledge to Arthur Fire-the-Braes ; 

And he, as by his breeding bound, 145 

To Howard's merrymen sent it round. 

To °quit them, on the English side, 

Red Roland Forster loudly cried, 

" A deep carouse to yon fair bride ! " 

At every pledge, from vat and pail, 150 

Foamed forth in floods the nut-brown ale, 

While shout the riders every one ; 

Such day of mirth ne'er cheered their clan, 

Since old °Buccleuch the name did gain, 

When in the cleuch the buck was ta'en. 155 



IX 

The wily page, with vengeful thought, 

Remembered him of Tinlinn's yew, 
And swore it should be dearly °bought 

That ever he the arrow drew. 
First, he the yeoman did molest 160 

With bitter jibe and taunting jest ; 
Told how he fled at Solway °strife, 
And how Hob Armstrong cheered his wife ; 
Then, shunning still his powerful arm, 
At unawares he wrought him harm ; x 165 

From °trencher stole his choicest °cheer, 
Dashed from his lips his can of beer ; 
Then, to his knee sly creeping on, 
With °bodkin pierced him to the bone : 
The venomed wound and festering joint 170 

Long after rued that bodkin's point. 
The startled yeoman swore and °spurned, 
And board and flagons overturned. 



98 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL [Canto VI. 

Eiot and clamor wild began ; 

Back to the hall the urchin ran, 175 

Took in a darkling nook his post, 

And grinned, and muttered, " Lost ! lost ! lost ! " 



By this, the dame, lest farther fray 

Should mar the concord of the day, 

Had bid the minstrels tune their lay. 180 

And first stepped forth old Albert Graeme, 

The minstrel of that ancient name: 

Was none who struck the harp so well 

Within the °Land Debatable ; 

Well friended too, his hardy kin, 185 

Whoever lost, were sure to win ; 

They sought the beeves that made their broth 

In Scotland and in England both. 

In homely guise, as nature bade, 

His simple °song the Borderer said. 190 

XI 

ALBERT GK.EME. 

It was an English ladye bright, 

(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall) 

And she would marry a Scottish knight, 
For Love will still be lord of all. 

Blithely they saw the rising sun, 195 

When he shone fair on Carlisle wall ; 
But they were sad ere day was done, 

Though Love was still the lord of all. 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 99 

Her sire gave brooch and jewel fine, 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall \ 200 
Her brother gave but a flask of wine, 

For ire that Love was lord of all. 

For she had lands, both meadow and °lea, 
Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall ; 

And he swore her death, ere he would see 205 

A Scottish knight the lord of all ! 

XII 

That wine she had not tasted °well, 
(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall) 

When dead, in her true love's arms, she fell, 

For Love was still the lord of all. 210 

He pierced her brother to the heart, 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall ; — 

So perish all would true love part, 
That Love may still be lord of all ! 

And then he took the cross °divine, 215 

Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall, 

And died for her sake in Palestine, 
So Love was still the lord of all. 

Now all ye lovers, that faithful prove, 

(The sun shines fair on Carlisle wall) 220 

Pray for their souls who died for love, 

For Love shall still be lord of all ! 

xiii L^C 

As ended Albert's simple lay, 
Arose a bard of loftier °port, 



100 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

For °sonnet, rhyme, and °roundelay 225 

Renowned in haughty Henry's °court: 

There rung thy harp, unrivalled long, 

Fitztraver of the silver song ! 

The gentle °Surrey loved his lyre — 

Who has not heard of Surrey's fame ? 230 

His was the hero's soul of fire, 

And his the bard's immortal name, 

And his was love, exalted high 

By all the glow of chivalry. 



XIV 

They sought together climes afar, 235 

And oft, within some olive grove, 
When even came with twinkling star, 

They sung of Surrey's absent love. 
His step the Italian peasant stayed, 

And deemed that spirits from on high, 240 

Bound where some hermit saint was laid, 

Were breathing heavenly melody ; 
So sweet did harp and voice combine 
To praise the name of Geraldine. 



xv 

Fitztraver, 0, what tongue may say 245 

The pangs thy faithful bosom knew, 
When Surrey of the deathless °lay 

Ungrateful °Tudor's sentence slew ? 
Regardless of the tyrant's frown, 
His harp called wrath and vengeance down. 250 

He left, for Naworth's iron °towers, 
Windsor's green glades and courtly °bowers, 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 101 

And, faithful to his patron's °name, 

With Howard still Fitztraver came ; 

Lord William's foremost favorite he, 255 

And chief of all his minstrelsy. 

XVI 
FITZTRAVER 

'Twas ° All-souls' eve, and Surrey's heart beat high ; 

He heard the midnight bell with anxious start, 
Which told the mystic hour, approaching nigh, 

When wise °Cornelius promised by his art 260 

To show to him the ladye of his heart, 
Albeit betwixt them roared the ocean grim ; 

Yet so the sage had °hight to play his part, 
That he should see her form in life and limb, 264 

And mark if still she loved and still she thought of him. 

XVII 

Dark was the vaulted room of gramarye, 
To which the wizard led the gallant knight, 

Save that before a mirror, huge and high, 
A hallowed taper shed a glimmering light 
On mystic implements of magic might, 270 

On cross, and character, and °talisman, 
And °almagest, and altar, nothing bright ; 

For fitful was the lustre, pale and wan, 
As watch-light by the bed of some °departing man. 

XVIII 

But soon, within that mirror huge and high, 275 

Was seen a self-emitted light to gleam ; 



102 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIX ST RE L [Canto VI. 

And forms upon its breast the earl gan spy, 
Cloudy and indistinct as feverish dream ; 
Till, slow arranging and defined, they seem 

To form a lordly and a lofty room, 280 

Part lighted by a lamp with silver beam, 

Placed by a couch of °Agra's silken loom, 
And part by moonshine pale, and part was hid in gloom. 

XIX 

Fair all the pageant — but how passing fair 

The slender form which lay on couch of Ind ! 285 
O'er her white bosom strayed her hazel hair, 

Pale her dear cheek, as if for love she pined ; 

All in her night-robe loose she lay reclined, 
And pensive read from tablet °eburnine 

Some strain that seemed her inmost soul to find: 290 
That favored strain was Surrey's raptured line, 
That fair and lovely form the Lady Geraldine. 

xx 

Slow rolled the clouds upon the lovely form, 

And swept the goodly vision all away — 
So royal envy rolled the murky storm 295 

O'er my beloved Master's glorious day. 

Thou jealous, ruthless tyrant! Heaven repay 
On thee, and on thy children's latest line, 

The wild caprice of thy despotic sway, 
The gory °bridal bed, the plundered °shrine, 300 

The murdered Surrey's blood, the tears of Geraldine ! 

XXI 

Both Scots and Southern chiefs prolong 
Applauses of Fitztraver's song; 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 103 

°These hated Henry's name as death, 

And °those still held the ancient °faith. 305 

Then from his seat with lofty air 

Eose Harold, bard of brave Saint Clair, — 

Saint Clair, who, feasting high at Home, 

Had with that lord to battle come. 

Harold was born where restless seas 310 

Howl round the storm-swept °Orcades ; 

Where °erst Saint Clairs held princely sway 

O'er isle and islet, strait and bay ; — 

Still nods their palace to its fall, 

Thy pride and sorrow, fair Kirkwall! — 315 

Thence oft he marked fierce °Pentland rave, 

As if grim °Odin rode her wave, 

And watched the whilst, with visage pale 

And throbbing heart, the struggling sail \ 

For all of wonderful and wild 320 

Had rapture for the lonely child. 

XXII 

And much of wild and wonderful 

In these rude isles might Fancy cull ; 

For thither came in times afar 

Stern °Lochlin's sons of roving war, 325 

The Norsemen, trained to spoil and blood, 

Skilled to prepare the raven's °food, 

Kings of the °main their leaders brave, 

Their barks the dragons of the °wave ; 

And there, in many a stormy vale, 330 

The °Scald had told his wondrous tale, 

And many a Runic °column high 

Had witnessed grim idolatry. 

And thus had Harold in his youth 



104 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

Learned many a °Saga's rhyme uncouth, — 335 

Of that °Sea-Snake, tremendous curled, 

Whose monstrous circle girds the world ; 

Of those dread °Maids whose hideous yell 

Maddens the battle's bloody swell ; 

Of °chiefs who, guided through the gloom 340 

By the pale death-lights of the °tomb, 

Ransacked the graves of warriors old, 

Their falchions wrenched from corpses' hold, 

Waked the deaf tomb with war's alarms, 

And bade the dead arise to arms ! 345 

With war and wonder all on flame, 

To Roslin's °bowers young Harold came, 

Where, by sweet glen and greenwood tree, 

He learned a milder minstrelsy ; 

Yet something of the Northern spell 350 

Mixed with the softer numbers well. 



XXIII 

I 

HAROLD 

O, listen, listen, ladies gay ! 

No haughty feat of arms I tell ; 
Soft is the note, and sad the lay, 

That mourns the lovely Rosabelle. 355 

" Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant crew ! 

And, gentle ladye, deign to stay ! 
Rest thee in Castle °Ravensheuch, 

Nor tempt the stormy firth to-day. 

" The blackening wave is edged with white ; 360 

To °inch and rock the sea-mews fly ; 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 105 

The fishers have heard the Water Sprite, 
Whose screams forebode that wreck is nigh. 

" Last night the gifted Seer did view 

A wet shroud swathed round lady e gay ; 365 

Then stay thee, fair, in Ravensheuch : 

Why cross the gloomy firth to-day ? " 

" 'Tis not because Lord Lindesay's heir 

To-night at Koslin leads the ball, 
But that my lady e-m other there 370 

Sits lonely in her castle-hall. 

" 'Tis not because the ring they °ride, 
And Lindesay at the ring rides well, 

But that my sire the wine will °chide, 

If 'tis not filled by Rosabelle." 375 

O'er Roslin all that dreary night 

A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam ; 

'Twas broader than the watch-fire light, 
And redder than the bright moonbeam. 

It glared on Roslin' s castled rock, 380 

It ruddied all the copse wood glen ; 
'Twas seen from Dreyden's groves of oak, 

And seen from caverned °Hawthornden. 

Seemed all on fire that chapel proud 

Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffined °lie, 385 

Each baron, for a sable shroud, 

Sheathed in his iron °panoply. 

Seemed all on fire within, around, 
Deep °sacristy and altar's °}>ale ; 



106 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

Shone every pillar °foliage-bound, 390 

And glimmered all the dead men's mail. 

Blazed battlement and °pinnet high, 

Blazed every rose-carved buttress fair — 

So still they °blaze when fate is nigh 

The lordly line of high Saint Clair. 395 

There are twenty of Roslin's barons bold 
Lie buried within that proud chapelle ; 

Each one the holy vault doth hold — 
But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle ! 

And each Saint Clair was buried there, 400 

With candle, with book, and with °knell ; 

But the sea-caves rung and the wild winds sung 
The dirge of lovely Rosabelle. 



J XXIV 

So sweet was Harold's piteous lay, 

Scarce marked the guests the darkened hall, 405 
Though, long before the sinking day, 

A wondrous shade involved them all. 
It was not eddying mist or fog, 
Drained by the sun from fen or bog ; 

Of no eclipse had sages told ; 410 

And yet, as it came on apace, 
Each one could scarce his neighbor's face, 

Could scarce his own stretched hand behold. 
A secret horror checked the feast, 
And chilled the soul of every guest ; 415 

Even the high dame stood half aghast, 
She knew some evil on the blast ; 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 107 

The elfish page fell to the ground, 

And, shuddering, muttered, " Found! found! found!" 

XXV 

Then sudden through the darkened air 420 

A flash of lightning came ; 
So broad, so bright, so red the glare, 

The castle seemed on flame. 
Glanced every rafter of the hall, 
Glanced every shield upon the wall ; 425 

Each trophied beam, each sculptured stone, 
Were instant seen and instant gone ; 
Full through the guests' bedazzled band 
Resistless flashed the °levin-brand, 
And filled the hall with smouldering smoke, 430 

As on the elfish page it broke. 
It broke with thunder long and loud, 
Dismayed the brave, appalled the proud, — 

From sea to sea the larum rung ; 
On Berwick wall, and at Carlisle withal, 435 

To arms the startled warders sprung. 
When ended was the dreadful roar, 
The elfish dwarf was seen no more ! 

XXVI 

Some heard a voice in Branksome Hall, 

Some saw a sight, not seen by all ; 440 

That dreadful voice was heard by some 

Cry, with loud summons, " Gylbin, come ! " 

And on the spot where burst the brand, 
Just where the page had flung him down, 

Some saw an arm, and some a hand, 445 

And some the waving of a gown. 



108 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

The guests in silence prayed and shoot, 

And terror dimmed each lofty look. 

But none of all the astonished train 

Was so dismayed as Deloraine : 450 

His blood did freeze, his brain did burn, 

; Twas feared his mind would ne'er return ; 

For he was speechless, ghastly, wan, 

Like him of whom the story °ran, 

Who spoke the spectre-hound in Man. 455 

At length by fits he darkly told, 

With broken hint and shuddering cold, V 

That he had seen right certainly 
A shape with amice wrapped around, 
With a wrought Spanish baldric bound, 460 

Like pilgrim from beyond the sea; 
And knew — but how it mattered not — 
It was the wizard, Michael Scott. 

XXVII 

The anxious crowd, with horror pale, 

All trembling h^ard the wondrous tale : 465 

No sound was made, no word was spoke, 

Till noble Angus silence broke ; 

And he a solemn sacred °plight 
Did to Saint Bride of Douglas make, 
That he a pilgrimage would take 470 

To Melrose Abbey, for the sake 

Of Michael's restless sprite. 
Then each, to each his troubled breast, 
To some blest saint his prayers addressed : 
Some to Saint Modan made their vows, 475 

Some to Saint Mary of the Lowes, 
Some to the Holy Rood of Lisle, 



Canto VI.] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



109 



Some to Our Lady of the Isle ; 

Each did his patron witness make 

That he such pilgrimage would take, 480 

And monks should sing and bells should toll, 

All for the weal of Michael's soul. 

While vows were ta'en and prayers were prayed, 

'Tis said the noble dame, dismayed, 

Renounced for aye dark magic's aid. 485 

XXVIII 

Nought of the bridal will I tell, 

Which after in short space befell ; 

Nor how brave sons and daughters fair 

Blessed Teviot's Flower and Oranstoun's heir : 

After such dreadful scene 'twere vain 490 

To wake the note of mirth again. 

More meet it were to mark the day 

Of penitence and prayer divine, 
When pilgrim-chiefs, in sad array, 

Sought Melrose' holy shrine. 495 



XXIX 

With naked foot, and sackcloth °vest, 
And arms enfolded on his breast, 

Did every pilgrim go ; 
The standers-by might hear °uneath 
Footstep, or voice, or high-drawn breath, 

Through all the lengthened row : 
No lordly look nor martial stride, 
Gone was their glory, sunk their pride, 

Forgotten their renown; 
Silent and slow, like ghosts, they glide 
To the high altar's hallowed side, 

And there they knelt them down. 



500 



505 



110 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

Above the suppliant chieftains wave 

The banners of departed brave ; 

Beneath the lettered stones were laid 510 

The ashes of their fathers dead ; 

From many a garnished niche around 

Stern saints and tortured martyrs frowned. 



„ XXX 

And slow up the dim aisle afar, 

With sable cowl and °seapular, 515 

And snow-white stoles, in order due, 

The holy fathers, two and two, 

In long procession came ; 
Taper and °host and book they bare, 
And holy banner, flourished fair 520 

With the Kedeemer's name. 
Above the prostrate pilgrim band 
The °mitred abbot stretched his hand, 

And blessed them as they kneeled ; 
With holy cross he signed them all, 525 

And prayed they might be sage in hall 

And fortunate in field. 
Then mass was sung, and prayers were said, 
And solemn requiem for the dead ; 
And bells tolled out their mighty peal 530 

For the departed spirit's weal ; 
And ever in the office °close 
The hymn of intercession rose ; 
And far the echoing aisles prolong 
The awful °burden of the song, 535 

Dies ir^s, dies °illa, 

solvet s^clum in favilla, 



Canto VL] THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 111 

While the pealing organ rung. 

Were it meet with sacred strain 

To close my lay, so light and vain, 540 

Thus the holy father sung : 



Hymn for the Dead 

That day of wrath, that dreadful day, 

When heaven and earth shall pass away, 

What power shall be the sinner's stay ? 

How shall he meet that dreadful day ? 545 

When, shrivelling like a parched scroll, 
The flaming heavens together roll, 
When louder yet, and yet more dread, 
Swells the high trump that wakes the dead ! 

0, on that day, that wrathful day, .550 

When man to judgment wakes from clay, 
Be Thou the trembling sinner's stay, 
Though heaven and earth shall pass away ! 



Hushed is the harp — the Minstrel gone. 

And did he wander forth alone ? 555 

Alone, in indigence and age, *s 

To linger out his pilgrimage ? 

No : close beneath proud Newark 's tower 

Arose the Minstrel's lowly bower, 

A simple hut ; but there was seen 560 

The little garden hedged with green, 

The cheerful hearth, and lattice clean. 



112 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Caxto VI. 

There sheltered wanderers, by the blaze, 

Oft heard the tale of other days ; 

For much he loved to ope his door, 565 

And give the aid he begged before. 

the winter's day ; but still. 
When summer smiled on sweet °Bowhill, 
And July's eve, with balmy breath, 
Waved the blue-bells on Newark heath, 57c 

When °throstles sung in c Harehead-shaw, 
And corn was green on °Carterhaugh. 
And flourished, broad. Blar-kandro's °oak, 
The aged harper's soul awoke! 
Then would he sing achievements high 
And circumstance of chivalry. 
Till the rapt traveller would stay, 
Forgetful of the closing day: 
And noble youths, the strain to hear, 
Forsook the hunting of the deer ; 580 

And Yarrow, as he rolled along, 
Bore burden to the Minstrel's song. 



NOTES 

INTRODUCTION 

Line 13. Palfrey. A horse ridden for pleasure, as distinguished 
from a war-horse. 

20. A stranger. William III, who succeeded James II, the last 
of the Stuart kings of England, in 1089. 

21. The bigots of the iron time. The Furitans of the time of 
the Commonwealth, who severely denounced all kinds of amuse- 
ment. In 1650 Parliament went so far as to pass an ordinance 
declaring " that if any person or persons, commonly called fullers 
or minstrels, shall at any time be taken playing, fidling, and mak- 
ing music, in any Inn, Alehouse, or Tavern, . . . every such 
person or persons, so taken, shall be adjudged, and are hereby ad- 
judged and declared to be rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars." 
— Minto, quoted by Rolfe. 

27. Newark's stately tower. Newark Castle, beautifully situ- 
ated on the Yarrow, about three miles west of Selkirk, was built 
by James II. Later it became the property of the Buccleuch 
family. It was made the scene of the minstrel's recitation prob- 
ably because the Duchess of Buccleuch and Monmouth was brought 
up there. 

32. Embattled portal arch. Arched gateway surmounted by 
battlements. 

35. Iron. Used here both in the literal sense of studded or 
strengthened with iron, and figuratively in the sense of hard and 
pitiless. 

i 113 



114 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

37. The Duchess. "Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch and Mon- 
mouth, representative of the ancient Lords of Buccleuch, and 
widow of the unfortunate James, Duke of Monmouth, who was 
beheaded in 1685." — IScoffls note. 

49. Earl Francis. " Francis Scott, Earl of Buccleuch, father of 
the Duchess.' ' — Scott 1 s note. 

50. Earl Walter. " Walter, Earl of Buccleuch, grandfather of 
the Duchess, and a celebrated warrior." — ScoWs note. 

57. Sooth. Truth, a word now obsolete except in poetry. 
75. He would full fain. He would be very glad if. 
78. Churls. Rustics or country fellows. 

80. King Charles the Good. Charles I, who was at Holyrood in 
1633, when he was crowned King of Scotland ; and in 1641, when 
he came to obtain the aid of the Scotch Presbyterians, in his 
struggle with the English Parliament. 

81. Holyrood. The royal palace in Edinburgh, named after the 
adjoining abbey, which was founded in 1128 by David I of Scot- 
land. Tradition says that the King intended to deposit in the abbey 
the holy rood or fragment of the true cross, brought to Scotland by 
his mother. 

92. Chords. Cords or strings. 

CANTO FIRST 

1. Branksome tower. Branxholme castle, situated on the 
Teviot about three miles above Hawick, was originally a well-forti- 
fied Border stronghold. Part of the original structure still stands. 

2. Ladye. An old spelling to give an antique air to the poem. 
Bower. Chamber. 

5. Jesu Maria, shield us well. Scott acknowledged having 
taken these lines from Coleridge's Christabel. Cf. 11. 53-54: — 

" Hash, beating heart of Christabel! 
Jesu Maria, shield her well! " 



Canto I.] NOTES 115 

6. Wight. This word used as a noun means creature ; as an 
adjective, strong or active. 

8. Drawn. Drawn aside after dinner to leave more room. It 
was idlesse all. All were at leisure. 

13. The rushy floor. In the Middle Ages floors were covered 
with rushes, which, when soiled, were easily replaced by fresh 
ones. The presence chamber of Queen Elizabeth is said to have 
been thus carpeted. 

15. From Teviot-stone to Eskdale-moor. See map. 

18. Of name. Of well-known family. 

19. To bower from stall. To the house from the stable. 

20. Yeomen. Freeborn citizens just below the nobility in rank. 
26. Harness. Armor. 

36. Wight. Strong. Cf. 6, note. 

38. Barded. Protected by armor ; used of horses. Trow. Believe 
or think ; obsolete except in poetry. 

39. Jedwood-axe. '"Of a truth,' says Froissart, ' the Scottish 
cannot boast great skill with the bow, but rather bear axes, with 
which, in time of need, they give heavy strokes ' The Jedwood- 
axe was a sort of partisan, used by horsemen, as appears from the 
arms of Jedburgh, which bear a cavalier mounted, and armed with 
this weapon. It is also called a Jedwood or Jeddart staff." — 
Scottfs note. 

42. Dight. Equipped. 

46. Saint George's red cross. The English banner, named after 
the patron saint of England. 

49. Lest Scroop or Howard or Percy's powers. Lord Scroop, 
Percy, Earl of Northumberland, and Lord William Howard were at 
different times wardens of the English "marches" or borderlands. 

Powers. Forces. 

51. Warkwork or Naworth or merry Carlisle. The castles of 
Percy, Howard, and Scroop, respectively. 

08. Lord Walter. u Sir Walter Scott of Buccleuch . . . was a 



116 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL [Canto I. 

brave and powerful baron, and Warden of the West Marches of 
Scotland. His death was the consequence of a feud between the 
Scotts and the Kerrs." ... — Scott's note. 
59. Burghers. Inhabitants of a burgh or town ; citizens. 

61. Dunedin. Edinburgh. 

62. Falchions. Slightly curved, short swords. 

63. Slogan's deadly yell. The slogan was the war-cry of a 
Border clan. 

70. In mutual pilgrimage. "Among other expedients resorted 
to for stanching the feud betwixt the Scotts and the Kerrs, there 
was a bond executed in 1529, between the heads of each clan, 
binding themselves to perforin reciprocally the four principal pil- 
grimages of Scotland for the benefit of the souls of those of the 
opposite name who had fallen in the quarrel." — Scott's note. 

78-93. In sorrow o'er Lord Walter's bier. Cf. Tennyson's 

Princess : — 

" Home they brought her warrior dead " etc. 

88-91. Until, amid his sorrowing clan. Cf. the ballad Johnny 
Armstrong's Last Good Night: — 

"Oh, then bespoke his little son, 
As he sat on his nurse's knee, 
1 If ever I live to be a man 
My father's death revenged shall be.' " 

104-107. Her lover 'gainst her father's clan. An allusion to a 
fight between the Kerrs or Carrs and the Scotts, which had taken 
place at Melrose. 

112. Clerk. Scholar. 

114. The art that none may name. Magic. 

115. Padua. " Padua w r as long supposed by the Scottish peas- 
ants to be the principal school of necromancy." — ScotVs note. 

119. Saint Andrew's cloistered halL The University of St. 
Andrews. 

120. His form no darkening shadow traced. " The shadow of 






Canto I.] NOTES 111 

a necromancer is independent of the sun. . . . The vulgar con- 
ceive, that when a class of students have made a certain progress 
in their mystic studies they are obliged to run through a subterra- 
neous hall, where the devil literally catches the hindmost in the 
race, unless he crosses the hall so speedily that the arch-enemy can 
only apprehend his shadow. In the latter case, the person of the 
sage never after throws any shade ; and those who have thus lost 
their shadows always prove the best magicians." — ScoWs note. 

127. In old Lord David's western tower. Sir David Scott was 
grandfather of the recently slain Sir Walter. 

131. Scaur's red side. A scaur was in Scottish dialect a precip- 
itous bank of earth. 

137. Ban-dogs. Dogs kept chained or bound ; originally band- 
dogs. 

151. Fell. A stony hill. 

154. From Craik-cross to Skelf hill-pen. See map. 

156. Morris. A corruption of Moorish. The morris or morrice 
dance was a favorite May- day pastime. 

158. Emerald rings. Rings of bright-colored grass, frequently 
found on heaths or meadows, were supposed to be made by the 
feet of fairies. Cf. Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream, 
Act II, Sc. 1 : — 

" And I serve the fairy queen 
To dew her orbs upon the green." 

" As the ground became parched under the feet of the moonlight 
dancers, Tuck's office was to refresh it with sprinklings of dew, 
thus making it greener than ever." — Hudson, quoted in Moody 
and Willard's edition of the Lay. 

162. Imprisoned. Thwarted or opposed. 

170. Arthur's slow wain. Another name for " Charles's Wain " 
or the " Great Dipper." Arthur is probably a corruption of Arc- 
turus, one of the stars in the constellation. Wain. Wagon. 



118 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

173. Orion's studded belt. Three stars in the constellation of 
Orion represent his belt. 

197. Mess-trooper. "This was the usual appellation of the 
marauders upon the Borders ; a profession diligently pursued by 
the inhabitants on both sides. . . . " — ScoWs note. 

198. Truncheon. Shaft or handle. 

207-208. The Unicorn's pride. The head of a unicorn was one 
of the heraldic emblems of the Carr family. A star and two cres- 
cents appeared in the arms of the Scotts. 

214. William of Deloraine. A retainer of the Buccleuch fam- 
ily who held adjoining lands. 

215. Stark. Strong, rugged. 

217. Solway Sands. The rapidity with which the tides rise in 
Solway Firth, and the quicksands make passage over the sands 
very dangerous. Cf. Bedgauntlet, letter iv. Tarras Moss. A bog 
on the Tarras Water, a tributary of the Esk. 

219-220. By wily turns. " The kings and heroes of Scotland, 
as well as the Border-riders, were sometimes obliged to study how 
to evade the pursuit of blood-hounds. . . . Robert Bruce was re- 
peatedly tracked by sleuth-dogs. On one occasion, he escaped by 
wading a bow-shot down a brook, and ascending into a tree by a 
branch which overhung the water ; thus, leaving no trace on land 
of his footsteps, he baffled the scent. . . . 

"A sure way of stopping the dog was to spill blood upon the 
track, which destroyed the discriminating fineness of his scent. A 
captive was sometimes sacrificed on such occasions." — ScoWs 
note. 

226. Matin prime. Early morning. According to the usage of 
the mediaeval church, prime was the first hour of the day, six 
o'clock. 

230. England's king and Scotland's queen. Edward VI and 
Mary, Queen of Scots. 

232. Wightest. Cf. 6 and 36. 



Canto I.] NOTES 119 

241. Saint Michael's night. Michaelmas, September 29. 

249. Lorn. Lost. The participle still survives in forlorn. 

258. Were't my neck- verse at Hairibee. u Hairibee was the 
place of executing the Border marauders at Carlisle. The neck- 
verse is the beginning of the 51st Psalm, Miserere mei, etc., 
anciently read by criminals claiming the benefit of clergy." — 
Scott 1 s note. 

4 'The clergy originally obtained freedom from secular jurisdic- 
tion on the strength of the text, 4 Touch not mine anointed, and do 
my prophets no harm.' In process of time this benefit of clergy 
was claimed for everybody that could read, all such persons being 
handed over to be dealt with by ecclesiastical authority." — Minto, 
quoted by Rolfe. 

261. Barbican. The defence of the outer gate of a castle, often 
in the form of a long and narrow covered passageway. That Scott 
had such a defence in mind is evident from his use of the adjective 
sounding. 

264. Basnet. A basin-shaped helmet. 

265. Peel. A strong tower, surrounded by a yard enclosed by a 
high wall. Within this yard the cattle were placed on the occasion 
of an attack. 

267. Moat-hill's mound. " This is a round artificial mount near 
Hawick, which, from its name (Mot, A. S. Concilium, Conventus), 
was probably anciently used as a place for assembling a national 
council of the adjacent tribes. There are many such mounds in 
Scotland, and they are sometimes, but rarely, of a square form." 
— Scotfs note. 

268. Druid shades. Ghosts of the Druids or priests of the 
ancient Britons. 

282. The Roman way. u An ancient Roman road, crossing 
through part of Roxburghshire." — ScoWs note. 

286. Brand. Poetical word for sword. 

287. Minto crags. "A romantic assemblage of cliffs, which 



120 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto I. 

rise suddenly above the vale of Teviot, in the immediate vicinity 
of the family-seat from which Lord Minto takes his title. A small 
platform, on a projecting crag, commanding a most beautiful pros- 
pect, is termed Bamhills* Bed. This Barnhills is said to have been 
a robber, or outlaw. There are remains of a strong tower beneath 
the rocks, where he is supposed to have dwelt, and from which he 
derived his name." — Scott 1 s note. 
288. Barnhill. See 287, note. 

296. The warbling Doric reed. An allusion to a beautiful pas- 
toral song written by Sir Gilbert Elliot, a descendant of the Lord 
Minto mentioned above. Doric reed. A stock phrase for poetry 
dealing with country life. 

297. Sad swain. Melancholy country fellow. 

301. Aill. See map. '-On its banks are several caves, one of 
which is said to have been a favorite retreat of Thomson the 
poet." — BoJfe's edition of the Lay. 

309. Ween. Think or believe ; an old English word, obsolete 
except in poetry. Cf. II, 334 ; III, 18. 

311. Counter. The lower part of a horse's neck and shoulders. 

317. Our Ladye's grace. The protection of the Virgin Mary. 

319. March-man. One dwelling on the marches or Borders. 

321. Halidon. " An ancient seat of the Kerrs of Cessford, now 
demolished. About a quarter of a mile to the northward lay the 
field of battle betwixt Buccleuch and Angus, which is called to 
this day the Skirmish Field." — Scott's note. Cf. Scott's drama 
Halidon Hill. 

326. Prize to the victor of the day. The right was brought on 
by the desire of the Scotts of Buccleuch to wrest the young King 
James V from the guardianship of the Earl of Douglas. The Carrs 
sided with Douglas. Carr of Cessford was killed by Elliott, a fol- 
lower of the Scotts, and the spot was marked by a stone about half 
a mile above Abbotsford. 

334. Old Melros'. Melrose Abbey. ' ; The ancient and beautiful 



Canto IL] NOTES 121 

monastery of Melrose was founded by King David I. Its ruins 
afford the finest specimen of Gothic architecture and Gothic sculp- 
ture which Scotland can boast. The stone of which it is built, 
though it has resisted the weather for so many ages, retains perfect 
sharpness, so that even the most minute ornaments seem as entire 
as when newly wrought. In some of the cloisters, as is hinted in 
the next Canto, there are representations of flowers, vegetables, 
etc., carved in stone, with accuracy and precision so delicate that 
we almost distrust our senses, when we consider the difficulty of 
subjecting so hard a substance to such intricate and exquisite modu- 
lation. This superb convent was dedicated to St. Mary, and the 
monks were of the Cistertian order." — Scott's note. 

337. Curfew. A bell rung at night to signify that fires mast be 
put out or covered. The hour established by William the Con- 
queror was eight o'clock. (From French couvre-feu.) 

338. Lauds. Midnight services. 

341-342. That wild harp. The iEolian harp, whose strings are 
vibrated by the wind. 
344. Meetly. Suitably. 
358. In due degree. In proper order of rank. 

CANTO SECOND 

1-18. If thou wouldst view. It is said that when Scott wrote 
these lines he had never seen Melrose Abbey by moonlight. 
6. Shafted oriel. A window divided by sjiafts of stone. 

11. Imagery. Images or statues decorating the building. 

12. Scrolls. " The buttresses . . . are richly carved and fretted, 
containing niches for the statues of saints, and labelled with scrolls 
bearing appropriate texts of Scripture." — Scotfs note. 

16. Saint David's ruined pile. Cf. I, 334, note. 

20. Recked. Cared. 

21. Wicket. A small gate opening through a larger one. 



122 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

28. Fence. Defend. 

29. Rood. Rod ; not to be confused with the word spelled the 
same, meaning cross. 

39. Aventayle. The visor of a helmet. 

54. Shirt of hair. A shirt made of such coarse materials as 
to irritate the skin ; worn as voluntary punishment. Scourge 
of thorn. Thorny rods with which voluntary punishment was 
inflicted. 

60. Drie. Endure or suffer. 

66. Patter. Repeat. Probably derived from pater, the first 
word in the Latin version of the Lord's Prayer. Ave Mary. A 
prayer to the Virgin. The usual form is Ave Maria. 

68. Can. Know. 

77-79. Where, cloistered round, the garden lay. The garden lay 
in a kind of court, surrounded by a covered walk or cloister under 
which monks were buried. 

90. Jennet. A small Spanish horse. 

96. Aloof. Aloft. Cf. 203. 

98-100. The keystone. "The carved bosses at the intersection 
of the ribs of a vaulted ceiling cannot fairly be called keystones. 
If they could be so called, it is not the ' aisles ' that they lock. By 
quatre-feuille, the poet means the four-leaved flower which is so 
common an ornament in the Decorated style. I do not know any 
authority for this use of the word. Quatrefoil is applied to an 
opening pierced in four foils, much used in ornaments, but quite 
different from a four-leaved boss. A corbel is a projecting stone 
or piece of timber supporting a superincumbent weight, such as the 
shaft or small column which supports the ribs of a vault. They 
are carved and moulded in a great variety of ways, often, as in 
Melrose Abbey, in the form of heads and faces." — Minto, quoted 
by Rolfe. 

101. The pillars. In Gothic churches the pillars are generally 
built in clusters. 



Canto II.] NOTES 123 

104. Scutcheon. A shield decorated with heraldic emblems. 
Riven. Torn. Old shields and battle flags had been hung up 
within the church. 

106. Pale. Paling or screen. 

108. Urn. Properly a vase in which the ashes of the cremated 
dead are kept ; here used loosely in the sense of tomb. 

109. Gallant Chief of Otterburne. " The famous and desperate 
battle of Otterburne was fought 15th August, 1388, betwixt Henry 
Percy, called Hotspur, and James, Earl of Douglas. Both these 
renowned champions were at the head of a chosen body of troops, 
and they were rivals in military fame. . . . The issue of the con- 
flict is well known : Percy was made prisoner, and the Scots won 
the day, dearly purchased by the death of their gallant general, the 
Earl of Douglas, who was slain in the action. He was buried at 
Melrose beneath the high altar." — ScoWs note. 

110. Dark Knight of Liddesdale. William Douglas, a renowned 
and powerful knight, who, after committing many cruelties, was 
slain out of revenge and interred in Melrose Abbey. 

113. The east oriel. " It is impossible to conceive a more beau- 
tiful specimen of the lightness and elegance of Gothic architecture, 
when in its purity, than the eastern window of Melrose Abbey." — 
Scotfs note. 

125. Triumphant Michael. St. Michael. 

126. Apostate. Satan. 

130. A Scottish monarch. " A large marble stone, in the chan- 
cel of Melrose, is pointed out as the monument of Alexander II, 
one of the greatest of our early kings." — ScotVs note. 

133-134. For Paynim countries. I have fought as a crusader in 
Pagan countries. 

138. Michael Scott. A distinguished scholar of the thirteenth 
century, who, on account of his learning, acquired the reputation of 
being a magician. He is the hero of many legends. 

140. Salamanca's cave. "Spain, from the relics, doubtless, of 



124 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto II. 

Arabian learning and superstition, was accounted a favorite resi- 
dence of magicians. . . . There were public schools where magic, 
or rather the sciences supposed to involve its mysteries, were regu- 
larly taught, at Toledo, Seville, and Salamanca. In the latter city, 
they were held in a deep cavern." ... — ScoWs note. 

141. Him listed. It pleased him. 

142. The bells would ring in Notre Dame. An allusion to a 
legend concerning a journey said to have been made by Michael 
Scott to the French court, for the purpose of demanding redress 
for certain wrongs committed by French pirates on Scotch subjects. 
By his magic power he evoked the Devil, whom in the form of a 
black horse he compelled to carry him to Paris. When the French 
king refused Michael's demands, the magician warned the monarch 
not to make a final refusal until he had seen his horse stamp three 
times. The first stamp shook all the steeples in Paris and made 
the bells ring ; the second overthrew three towers of the palace. 
The terrified king was only too glad to dismiss his unwelcome vis- 
itor with all the concessions demanded. 

145-146. The words that cleft Eildon Hills in three. " Michael 
Scott was, once upon a time, much embarrassed by a spirit, for 
whom he was under the necessity of finding constant employment. 
He commanded him to build a cauld, or dam-head, across the 
Tweed at Kelso ; it was accomplished in one night, and still does 
honor to the infernal architect. Michael next ordered that Eildon 
Hill, which was then a uniform cone, should be divided into three. 
Another night was sufficient to part its summit into the three pic- 
turesque peaks which it now bears. At length the enchanter con- 
quered this indefatigable demon, by employing him in the hopeless 
and endless task of making ropes out of sea-sand." — ScotVs 
note. 

169-170. When the floor of the chancel. When the reflection 
of St. Michael's red cross in the stained glass window was thrown 
by the moonlight on the chancel floor. 



Canto II.] NOTES 125 

186. That lamp shall burn unquenchably. A belief in lamps 
that would burn forever was a superstition of the Middle Ages. 

189. Traced upon. Reflected by the moonlight. 

198. By dint of passing strength. By force of surpassing 
strength. 

214. A palmer's amice. A palmer was one who had made a 
pilgrimage to the Holy Land. He wore a palm branch in token 
of his journey. Amice. A flowing cloak worn by pilgrims. 

215. Wrought Spanish baldric. Embroidered Spanish belt. 
221. Fellest. Fiercest. 

227. Remorse. Regret or pity. 

236. Death-prayer. Prayer for the dead. 

238. Speed. Hurry. Cf. 269, and IV, 389. 

239. Rue. Regret or be sorry for. 

253. Postern. A rear gate, generally smaller than the main 
entrance. 

280. Nerves. Sinews. 

282. Full fain. Very glad. Cf. Introduction, 75, and II, 379. 

287. The Carter's side. One of the Cheviot hills near the 
English border. 

299. Kirtle. Gown. Hastilie. Archaic spelling like laclye, used 
also to emphasize the rhyme with tie. 

317. Set. Seated. 

328. Fair. Poetical word for lady. 

352. Eld. Age. 

353. The Baron's dwarf. " The idea of Lord Cranstoun's 
Goblin Page is taken from a being called Gilpin Horner, who 
appeared and made some stay at a farmhouse among the Border- 
mountains." — ScotVs note. 

366. Some whit. Somewhat. 

367. Rade. An old form of rode, used here for the rhyme. 
377. Litherlie. Mischievous, ill-natured. 

380. Had been. Would have been. 



126 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Canto III. 

381. An. If. 

382. Between Home and Hermitage. Throughout the Border ; 
from Home Castle on the northeast to Hermitage Castle on the 
southwest. 

390-402. But the Ladye of Branksome. The incident alluded 
to in these lines actually took place in 1557. 
■ill. Cushat-dove. Wood-pigeon. 

420. Crowned. Filled to the brim. 

421. Blood of Velez' scorched vine. Malaga wine. Yelez is a 
town in the province of Malaga, on the southern coast of Spain. 

Scorched. Ripened by the sun. 
431. Cordial. Stimulating. 

CANTO THIRD 

3. Kindly. Natural. 
8. Recreant. Coward. 

11. Tunes the shepherd's reed. Inspires domestic poetry. 

12. Mounts the warrior's steed. Instills strength and courage 
into the warrior. 

24. Pricking. Spurring or riding. Cf. IV, 411. 

33. The crane on the Baron's crest. "The crest of the Cran- 
stouns. in allusion to their name, is a crane dormant, holding a 
stone in his foot, with an emphatic Border motto, Thou shalt want 
ere I want." — Scott's note. 

38. Dire debate. Serious combat. 

49. Couched. Levelled. 

53. Dint. Blow. Lent. Gave. 

61. Jack. This word was applied rather loosely, sometimes to a 
coat strengthened with plates or links of steel, sometimes to a padded 
garment worn under the armor. Here the coat of mail is probably 
meant. Acton. A thickly padded coat worn under the armor. 

06, On a heap. In a heap. 



Canto III.] NOTES 127 

82. Short shrift. Brief time for confession. 

90. Book-bosomed priest. Scott says that monks were some- 
times called Book-a-bosomes from carrying the mass-book in their 
bosoms. 

102. Spell. Magic formula. 

103. Glamour. " Glamour, in the legends of Scottish supersti- 
tion, means the magic power of imposing on the eyesight of the 
spectators, so that the appearance of an object shall be totally dif- 
ferent from the reality." — ScoWs note. 

108. Sheeling. A shepherd's hut. 

125. So mot I thrive. A mild oath, — so might I prosper. 

128. High behest. Important command. 

132. Before the beards of the warders all. In modern colloquial 
idiom, u Before their face and eyes." 

134. Wain. Cf. I, 170, note. 

140. Gramarye. Magic. 

146. Train. Draw or entice. 

152. Lurcher. A dog that lies in wait, lurches or lurks for game. 

155. The running stream dissolved the spell. "It is a firm 
article of popular faith, that no enchantment can subsist in a 
living stream. Nay, if you can interpose a brook betwixt you and 
witches, spectres, or even fiends, you are in perfect safety. Burns's 
inimitable Tarn o 1 Shanter turns entirely upon such a circumstance. 
The belief seems to be of antiquity." — ScoWs note. 

157. Vilde. An old form of vile. 

160. Spleen. Spite. 

161. His awful mother. The mother of the boy, inspiring awe 
because of her magical powers. 

175. Grisly. Terrible. 

188. Wildered. Bewildered. 

189. Furiouslie. Another example of a change of spelling to 
emphasize the rhyme. Cf. II, 299, note. 

195. Bat. Staff. 



128 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto III. 

205. Fellow's. Companion's. 

210. Him fro. From him. 

216. Barret-cap. Cloth cap. 

221. Kirtle. Tunic or hunting shirt. Cf. II, 299, note. 

225. Span. An old English measiire equal to about nine inches. 

226. Fence. Means of defence. Cf. II, 28. 

227-228. He never counted him a man. "Imitated from Dray- 
ton's account of Robin Hood and his followers. ... To wound 
an antagonist in the thigh, or leg, was reckoned contrary to the 
law of arms." — ScoWs note, 

250. Gramercy. A corruption of the French grand merci, great 
thanks. 

254. Comest to thy command. Succeed to thy rights as chief- 
tain. 

255. Wardens. The wardens of the Border, appointed by the 
King to keep peace. 

256. My bow of yew to a hazel wand. A playful wager. 

270. Maudlin. A corruption of Magdalen. Tire. Head-dress. 

272. Bandelier. Ammunition belt. 

273. Hackbuteer. A soldier armed with a hackbut, a kind of 
heavy musket. The word was variously spelled: hagbut, arque- 
bus, and harkquebuss. 

279. Had soon dispelled. Would have soon dispelled. 

286. Despite her precept dread. In spite of her strict com- 
mand. Cf. I, 247-250. 

293-299. No longer by his couch she stood. A method of treat- 
ment apparently believed in by the superstitious Scotch and called 
u healing by sympathy." Scott notes that in Dryden's Enchanted 
Island, an altered version of Shakespeare's Tempest, a similar 
method of treatment is described. 

321. Penchryst Pen. See map. 

322. Ken. Sight. 

328. Fire of death. Signal of war. 



Canto III.] NOTES 129 

336. Cresset. A rude torch made by suspending on pivots at 
the end of a pole a metal pot or pan, in which was placed a coil 
of rope saturated with oil, resin, or some such combustible material. 

341. Seneschal. The chief steward or officer of a castle. 

345. Bale. Bundle of beacon fagots. 

346. Priesthaughswire. See map. 

349. Mount for Branksome. The gathering cry of the Scotts. 

372. Vassals. In mediaeval times, those who were bound to 
render certain payment in money and service to the person on 
whose land they dwelt. 

374. Need-fire. Beacon. 

385. Tarn. Mountain lake. 

386. Earn. Eagle. 

387. Cairn's gray pyramid. u The cairns, or piles of loose 
stones, which crown the summit of most of our Scottish hills, and 
are found in other remarkable situations, seem usually, though not 
universally, to have been sepulchral monuments." — Scottfs note. 

390. Soltra. Soultra Hill, about fifteen miles southeast of 
Edinburgh. Dumpender Law. A hill near Haddington. 

391. Lothian. A former division of Scotland, extending from 
the English boundary to the Firth of Forth. Regent. The Earl of 
Arran. The queen was at this time absent in France. 

392. Bowne. Make ready. Cf. Marmion, IV, 486-488 : — 

"Each ordering that his band 
Should bowne them with the rising day, 
To Scotland's camp to take their way." 

399. Keep. The main tower of a castle. 

400. To whelm the foe with deadly shower. An allusion to 
the custom of throwing down heavy missiles, such as stones and 
beams, and even boiling oil and melted lead, on the besiegers dur- 
ing an attack. 

406. High. Important. Cf. 128. 



130 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Canto IV. 

415. Leven clans. Freebooters from the neighborhood of the 
river Leven, in Cumberland, England. Tyndale men. Marauders 
from the Tyne, a stream near the central part of the English 
Border. 



CANTO FOURTH 

8. Tweed. See map. 

20. Great Dundee. The Viscount of Dundee, better known as 
Graham of Claverhouse, was slain in the battle of Killiecrankie, 
1689. He is the subject of Scott's song, Bonnie Dundee, and a 
character in the novel Old Mortality. 

28. For pathless marsh and mountain cell. On the occasion of 
Border forays the peasants were accustomed to hide in the marshes 
or in caves. Many of these caverns may still be seen in various 
parts of Scotland. 

37. Southern ravage. From documents of the times it appears 
that Border raids were often accompanied by atrocities quite as 
horrible as those more recently committed by the Turks in Armenia 
and Macedonia. 

40. Watt Tinlinn. " This person was, in my younger days, the 
theme of many a fireside tale. He was a retainer of the Buccleuch 
family, and held for his Border service a small tower on the fron- 
tiers of Liddesdale. Watt was, by profession, a sutor [cobbler], 
but, by inclination and practice, an archer and warrior. Upon 
one occasion, the captain of Bewcastle, military governor of that 
wild district of Cumberland, is said to have made an incursion into 
Scotland, in which he was defeated and forced to fly. Watt Tinlinn 
pursued him closely through a dangerous morass ; the captain, 
however, gained the firm ground ; and seeing Tinlinn dismounted, 
and floundering in the bog, used these words of insult : 4 Sutor 
Watt, ye cannot sew your boots ; the heels risp [creak], and the 
seams rive [tear].' 'If I cannot sew,' retorted Tinlinn, discharg- 



Canto IV.] NOTES 131 

ing a shaft, which nailed the captain's thigh to his saddle, * if I 
cannot sew, lean yerk [twitch the stitches tight].' " — ScotVs note. 

41. Flood. Stream. 

42. Snatchers. Plunderers. 

43. Prove. Try. 

44. Saint Barnabright. St. Barnabas 1 day, June 11, often called 
"Barnaby bright" or "Long Barnaby," because it was supposed 
to be the longest day in the year. 

47. Yew. The wood of the yew tree was supposed to be the 
best material for bows. 

51. Warden-Raid. " An inroad commanded by the Warden in 
person." — ScoWs note. 

55. Hag. " The broken ground in a bog." — Scott 1 s note. 

56. Billhope stag. " There is an old rhyme, which thus cele- 
brates the places in Liddesdale remarkable for game : — 

11 i Billhope braes for bucks and raes, 
And Carit haugh for swine, 
And Tarras for the good bull trout, 
If he be ta'en in time.' 

" The bucks and roes, as well as the old swine, are now extinct ; 
but the good bull-trout is still famous." — ScoWs note. 

64. Morion. A steel cap or helmet without a movable visor 
for covering the face. 

65. Jack. Cf. Ill, 61, note. Enow. Old form of enough. 

68. Six Scottish ells. The Scottish ell was about thirty-seven 
inches. 

76. German hackbut-men. Foreign soldiers were often em- 
ployed by the English sovereigns at this time. 

87. Scrogg. A shady wood. 

90. I had him long at high despite. I had long regarded him 
with great hatred. 

91. Fastern's night. The night before the fast of Lent. 
94. Ken. Observation. Cf. Ill, 322, note. 



132 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL [Canto IV. 

98. Ettrick shade. Ettrick forest. See map. 
102. Trysting-place. Meeting place. 

104. Saint Mary's silver wave. St. Mary's lake. See map. 

105. Gamescleuch's dusky height. See map. 

106-119. His ready lances Thirlstane brave. "Sir John Scott 
of Thirlestane flourished in the reign of James V, and possessed 
the estates of Thirlestane, Gamescleuch, etc., lying upon the river 
of Ettrick, and extending to St. Mary's Loch, at the head of Yarrow. 
It appears, that when James had assembled his nobility, and their 
feudal followers, at Eala, with the purpose of invading England, 
and was, as is well known, disappointed by the obstinate refusal of 
his peers, this baron alone declared himself ready to follow the 
King wherever he should lead. In memory of his fidelity, James 
granted to his family a charter of arms, entitling them to bear a 
border of fleurs-de-luce, similar to the tressure in the royal arms, 
with a bundle of spears for the crest ; motto, Heady, aye ready.'' 
— Scott's note. 

108. Tressured fleur-de-luce. The figures of a fleur-de-luce, or 
fleur-de-lys, — as the word is more commonly spelled, — arranged 
in a tressure or border. The fleur-de-lys is a figure used in art, 
suggested by the iris or blue flag. 

110. Fala's mossy wave. Eala is a mossy district about twenty 
miles southeast of Edinburgh. 

113. What time. At the time that. 

120. An aged knight. Walter Scott of Harden, commonly 
called Wat of Harden, an ancestor of the poet. In Border Min- 
strelsy Scott tells us that this famous personage " flourished during 
the reign of Queen Mary, was a renowned Border freebooter, con- 
cerning whom tradition has preserved a variety of anecdotes. . . . 
The bugle-horn, said to have been used by this formidable leader, 
is preserved by his descendant, the present Mr. Scott of Harden. 
His castle was situated upon the very brink of a dark and precipi- 
tous dell, through which a scanty rivulet steals to meet the Borth- 






Canto IV.] NOTES 133 

wick. In the recess of this glen he is said to have kept his spoil, 
which served for the daily maintenance of his retainers, until the 
production of a pair of clean spurs, in a covered dish, announced 
to the hungry band that they must ride for a supply of provisions. 
He was married to Mary Scott, daughter of Philip Scott of 
Dryhope, and called in song the Flower of Yarrow. He pos- 
sessed a very extensive estate, which was divided among his 
five sons. There are numerous descendants of this old marauding 
Baron." 

122. Azure in a golden field. The arms of the Scotts at this 
time bore a crescent and blue stars on a surface of gold, and were 
without the bend, or band, inserted later on the marriage of one of 
the Scotts into the Murdiestone family. 

125. Oakwood Tower. A well-preserved tower still standing in 
the vale of Ettrick, not far from Selkirk. 

126. Castle-Ower. See map. 

135. Flower of Yarrow. Cf. 120, note. 

140. Dinlay's spotless snow. See map. 

145. Eskdale. See map. 

146. Todshawhill. See map. 

149. Hearken, Ladye, to the tale. The story which follows is 
historically true. 

153. Mood. Spirit, temper. 

158. Homage and seigniory. Whatever payment in respect, 
money, or property was due him as lord of the estate. 

159. Galliard. Gay or bold. Heriot. Originally the arms of a 
tenant delivered on his death to the lord of the estate, later used of 
any offering. 

170. Muir. Moor. 

177. Cast. As many as would be let loose upon the game at 
once, generally a pair. 
179. Beshrew thy heart. A mild curse. 
205. He. The lord of Branksome. 



L34 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Cajcto IT. 

Pentoun-linn. A rapid or waterfall in the LiddeL 

217. Bore. Pierced. 

219. Haugh. HilL 

226. Yarrow-cleugh to Hindhaugh-swair. A clengh is a glen 
or hollow in a hillside. A swair, or swire. is a hillslope. 

229. Belle nden. " Bellenden is situated near the head of Borth- 
wick Water, and being in the centre of the possessions of the Scotts, 
was frequently used as their place of rendezvous and gathering 

249. Plained. Complained. 

.'.. Wont. Was accustomed. 

255. Faintness. Cowardice. 

858. Rangleburn's lonely side. The Rangleburn was a stream 
not far from Branksome. 

- - Counterfeited. Pretended. 

. ". Mickle. Much. 

_"i Cloth-yard shaft An arrow as long as a stick used for 
measuring cloth. 

291. Almayn's. German's. 

292. Crimson sheen. Shining crimson. 
297. Loosely. In open order. 

299. Kendal archers. From Kendal in Westmoreland, cele- 
brated for its green cloth as well as its archers. 

3C*3. Bill men. Footsokiiers armed with bills, or long battle 

■XB& 

304. Irthing. A river of Cumberland. 

. Acre's conquered walL Lord Dacre derived his name from 
xplofts of one of his ancestors at the siege of Acre, a city on 
the coast of Syria, in 1191. 

319. Levin-darting. Lightning-darting. 

320. Frounced. Plaited or flounced. 

. Morsing-horns. Powder flasks. 
.. Better. Biirat. 



Canto IV,] JS r OTES 135 

323. In the escalade. In scaling walls. 

330. Glaive. Broadsword. 

331. Battle's. Army's. 

333. To gain his spurs. The young knight was fully equipped 
for his first warlike venture, except for his spurs. These were 
given him only after he had earned the right to wear them by 
showing his courage on the field. 

334. Favor. A ribbon, glove, or some other small article given 
the young knight by his sweetheart. 

342. Know. Hear. 

344. Bartizan. A small projecting turret. 

345. Partisan. A kind of long-handled battle-axe. 

346. Falcon, culver. Small cannon. 

351. The seething pitch and molten lead. Cf. Ill, 400, note. 

352. Caldron. A large kettle. 

360. Chastened fire. Subdued spirit. 

362. Better hand. Cf. 322. 

365. A gauntlet on a spear. " A glove upon a lance was the 
emblem of faith among the ancient Borderers, who were wont, 
when any one broke his word, to expose this emblem, and pro- 
claim him a faithless villain at the first Border meeting. This 
ceremony was much dreaded." — Scott' 1 s note. 

367. Stout. Bold. 

372. The truce of Border tide. A time when a truce had been 
declared by the English and the Scotch wardens. 

374. Gilsland brand. Either a sword made at Gilsland, a place 
in Cumberland near the Scotch Border, or soldiers from Gilsland 
armed with swords. 

377. Reads. Advises. Swith. Quickly. 

387. Pursuivant-at-arms. A herald or a herald's attendant. 

389. Sped. Delivered. 

394. Lion argent. A lion embroidered in white, — the crest of 
the Howards. 



136 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto IV. 

400. Irks. Grieves. 

407. Flemens-firth. An asylum for outlaws. 

409. March-treason pain. Punishment for march-treason, which 
included a number of offences peculiar to the Border. 

410. Saint Cuthbert's even. The night before St. Cuthbert's 
day, which is March 20. 

412. Harried. Plundered. 

413. Dint of glaive. Cf. 330, note. 

418. Warrison. Incorrectly used by Scott as signal for assault. 
Used by old writers in sense of reward. 

426. Cheer. Countenance. 

434. Emprise. Enterprise or undertaking, — used here ironically. 

437. Will cleanse him by oath. Under some circumstances 
men accused of Border offences were allowed to clear themselves 
by swearing to their own innocence. 

440-441. No knight in Cumberland so good. There is no knight 
in Cumberland so good that William may not prove himself to be 
as well connected. 

442. Knighthood he took. " The dignity of knighthood, accord- 
ing to the original institution, had this peculiarity, that it did not 
flow from the monarch, but could be conferred by one who himself 
possessed it, upon any squire who, after due probation, was found 
to merit the honor of chivalry. Latterly, this power was confined 
to generals, who were wont to create knights bannerets after or 
before an engagement." — Scott' s note. 

443. Ancram ford. "The battle of Ancram Moor, or Peniel- 
heuch, was fought a.d. 1545. The English, commanded by Sir 
Ralph Evers, and Sir Brian Latoun, were totally routed, and both 
their leaders slain in the action. The Scottish army was com- 
manded by Archibald Douglas, Earl of Angus, assisted by the 
Laird of Buccleuch and Norman Lesley." — Scottfs note. 

444-446. And but Lord Dacre's steed was wight. The lady here 
intimates that if Lord Dacre had not run away, he would have 






Canto IV,] NOTES 137 

seen William of Deloraine knighted by the victorious Scottish 
leader. 

446. Dubbed. Made. Dub is the word regularly used of con- 
ferring knighthood. 

447. For. As for. 

453. Lyke-wake dirge. Properly a dirge or lament sung at the 
wake or watching of a corpse before burial, here used in sense of 
death signal. 

458. Pensils. Pennons or streamers attached to the lance of a 
knight. 

466. Gray-goose shaft. An arrow feathered with a goose 
feather. 

470. What make you here. What are you doing here, a phrase 
frequent in Shakespeare. 

473. Toils. Nets. 

474. Ruberslaw. A hill a few miles from Hawick. 

475. Weapon-schaw. Review or assembling of troops, literally 
a weapon-show. 

481. The eagle and the rood. Lord Maxwell's arms. Rood. 
Cf. Introduction, 81, note. 

489. Brook. Endure. 

498. Harquebuss. Cf. Ill, 273, note. On row. In a row. 

505. Blanche Lion. White lion. Cf. 394, note. 

509. Certes. Certainly. 

540. Falls. Chances or turns out. 

543. Straight. Straightway or immediately. 

546. Gainsaid. Said against or in opposition to. 

551. Prescience. Knowledge of the future. 

555. Lists. The ground enclosed for a combat. For a detailed 
description of the lists arranged for a tournament or series of formal 
combats, see Ivanhoe, Chaps. VII- VIII. 

568. Whenas. When. 

570. The jovial harper. "The person here alluded to is one 



138 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Cant- IV. 

of our ancient Border minstrels, called Rattling Roaring Willie. 
This i was probably derived from his bullying disposition ; 

being, it would seem, such a roaring boy as is frequently mentioned 
in old plays. While drinking at NewmilL, upon Teviot. about five 
miles above Hawick. Willie chanced to quarrel with one of his 
own profession, who was usually distinguished by the odd name of 
Sweet Milk, from a place on Rule Water so called. Tin 
to a meadow on the opposite side of the Teviot. to decide the con- 
test with their swords, and Sweet Milk was killed on the spot. A 
thorn-tree marks the scene of the murder, which is still called 
Sweet Milk Thorn. Willie was taken and executed at Jedbu 
bequeathing his name to the beautiful Scotch air. called ' Rattling 
Roaring Willie.' " — Scott's 

574. Black Lord Archibald's battle laws. An ancient collec- 
tion of regulations which by general consent governed warfare on 
the Border. 

Plied. 1 ind. 

581. The Bard of Reull. See 570, note. 

B. Ousenam's maidens. Ousenam, now Oxnain, was a town 
near Jedburgh. 

11 The lasses «»f Ousenam water 

Are rugging and riving their hair 
And a' for the sake of Willie 

His beauty was so fair.'' 
— From the song of Battling Roaring Willie. 

591. Jedwood Air. Jed wood Assizes, or meeting of the law 
courts. 

614. Mignon's. Favorite's. 
617. Hearse. Tomb. 
623. Dulcet. Sweet, 



Canto V.] NOTES 139 



CANTO FIFTH 

13. Urn. Cf. II, 108, note. 

29-30. The chief whose antique crownlet. The chief whose 
coronet, or the ancient renown of whose family, has been kept in 
remembrance in the songs of minstrels. 

32. Thanedom. The estate of a thane, or Saxon noble, 

36. Impel the rill. Increase the flow of the stream. 

49. Vails not to tell. It is not worth while to name. 

50. Middle Marches. The Border country was divided into the 
East, the Middle, and the West Marches, each division with its 
own warden. 

51. The Bloody Heart. Heraldic emblem of the Douglas. 

53. Spurn. Prance. 

54. The Seven Spears of Wedderburne. The seven sons of Sir 
David Home of Wedderburne. 

58. Clarence's Plantagenet. " At the battle of Beaug£, in 
France, Thomas, Duke of Clarence, brother to Henry V, was un- 
horsed by Sir John Swinton of Swinton, who distinguished him by 
a coronet set with precious stones, which he wore around his hel- 
met. The family of Swinton is one of the most ancient in Scot- 
land, and produced many celebrated warriors." — ScoWs note. 

59. Nor list I say. Nor do I care to mention. Cf. II, 141, note. 
62-65. The crest of Old Dunbar. The Homes were descendants 

of the Dunbars, an ancient Scottish family, and bore the lion ram- 
pant as a heraldic emblem. They were usually closely allied with 
the Hepburns, hence ''mingled banners." 

65. A Home. The war-cry of the Homes. 

71. Ta'en. Arranged. 

73. Dear. Earnestly. 

76. Cheer. Hospitality or refreshment. A different word from 
cheer in IV, 426. 



140 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto V. 

102. Dear. Friendly. Cf. 73. 

106. Drove the jolly bowl about. Passed round the drinking cup. 

110. The football play. "The football was anciently a very 
favorite sport all through Scotland, but especially upon the Borders. 
Sir John Carrnichael of Carmichael, Warden of the Middle Marches, 
was killed in 1600 by a band of the Armstrongs, returning from a 
football match. Sir Robert Carey, in his Memoirs, mentions a 
great meeting, appointed by the Scotch riders to be held at Kelso 
for the purpose of playing at football, but which terminated in an 
incursion upon England. At present, the football is often played 
by the inhabitants of adjacent parishes, or of the opposite banks of 
a stream. The victory is contested with the utmost fury, and very 
serious accidents have sometimes taken place in the struggle." — 
ScoWs note. 

119. Whingers. Knives or daggers. 

128. Wassail. Carousal. (From A. S. wes hdl = good health to 
you, a phrase used in drinking.) 

150. Nether. Lower. 

152. Pales. Stakes or timbers. 

165. By times. Early ; generally written betimes. 

179. Ousenam bowers. Cf. IV, 588, note. 

190. Urchin. Mischievous elf, originally hedgehog. 

193. Hermitage. A famous castle about thirty miles from Car- 
lisle, the stronghold of the Douglases. 

196. For. In spite of. 

207. Sprite. Spirit. 

215. Tell. Understand. 

219. Fantasy's. Fancy's. 

230. Port. "A martial piece of music, adapted to the bag- 
pipes." — ScoWs note. 

249. Craved. Demanded. 

259. Buff. Originally leather prepared from the skin of a buf- 
falo, later applied loosely to various kinds of heavy cloth. 



Canto V,] NOTES 141 

260. Slashed. Cut so as to show the satin lining. 
264. Bilboa blade. Bilboa, in Spain, was famous for the manu- 
facture of swords. 

270. Footcloth. A cloth covering the horse. 

271. Wimple. A cloth worn out of doors by women, as a pro- 
tection for the side of the head and the neck. 

280. Cause of terror. The knowledge of Cranstoun's plan. 
283. Barriers. The lists or enclosure in which the combat was 
to take place. 

290. Leading staffs. Batons. 

291. Mortal field. Field on which one combatant would prob- 
ably receive a mortal wound. 

301. Alternate heralds. Heralds speaking alternately. 

303. Freely born. Free born, or born of free parents. 

305. Dispiteous scathe. Malicious injury. 

311. Strain. Ancestry, breeding. 

313. Coat. Coat-of-arms, hence honor. 

334. Claymore. A Highland broadsword. 

344. Gorget. A piece of armor protecting the throat. (From 
French gorge — throat.) 

346. Bootless. Useless. 

358. Still. Constantly. 

364. Ghostly. Spiritual. 

371. Beaver. Lower and movable part of the helmet. 

398. Deigned. Condescended. 

408. The Spirit's prophecy. Cf. I, 177-179. 

411. Their influence kindly stars may shower. An allusion to 
astrology, the science of the influence of the stars on human life, 
so generally believed in during the Middle Ages. 

430. Dight. Clad. 

456. Wraith. The apparition or ghost of a living person. 

459. What hap had proved. What chance had come to pass. 

481. Mark. An ancient coin worth about $3.32. 



142 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

482. Long of thee. On your account, or owing to you. 

490. Snaffle, spur, and spear. The cognizances or heraldic em- 
blems of various Border families. 

491. Gear. Stolen property. 

494. Cheer the dark bloodhound. " The pursuit of Border 
marauders was followed by the injured party and his friends with 
bloodhounds and bugle-horn, and was called the hot-trod. He was 
entitled, if his dog could trace the scent, to follow the invaders into 
the opposite kingdom, a privilege which often occasioned blood- 
shed." — Scott 1 s note. 

499. Bowning. Preparing to return. Cf. Ill, 392, note. 

506. Sable. Black. Stole. Sometimes applied to a long scarf, 
sometimes to a robe worn by churchmen. 

512. Holme Coltrame's lofty nave. The church at Holme Col- 
trame, a village on the Solway Firth. 

523. In choral stave. With religious or church music. 

527. A poor and thankless soil. The Scottish Border. 

535. Misprized. Slighted or disparaged. 

CANTO SIXTH 

17. Caledonia. Name given by Roman writers to the northern 
part of Great Britain, and applied poetically to Scotland. 

26. Seems as. It seems as if. 

30-36. By Yarrow's stream. That the feelings here expressed 
were Scott's own was proved later when, after returning from a 
tour on the Continent in the vain hope of regaining his failing 
health, he again reached his native country. His son-in-law Lock- 
hart says : — 

4 'As we descended the vale of the Gala he began to gaze about 
him, and by degrees it was obvious that he was recognizing the 
features of that familiar landscape. Presently he murmured a 
name or two — Gala Water, surely, Buckholm, Torwoodlee. As 



Canto VI.] NOTES 143 

we rounded the hill at Ladhof e, and the outline of the Eildons 
burst on him, he became greatly excited, and when turning him- 
self on the couch his eye caught at length his own towers, at the dis- 
tance of a mile, he sprang up with a cry of delight. " — LockharVs 
Life of Scott, Vol. VIII. 

34. Teviot-stone. U A rough boulder on the Rashlie-grain 
height at the watershed between the counties of Roxburgh and 
Dumfries ; it may have marked a parish boundary or a bridle 
path. It has long since disappeared." — Flather^s edition of the 
Lay. 

50. Tide. Time. (From A. S. tid = time.) 

51. Spousal rite. Betrothal ceremony. 
54. Owches. Jewels. 

56. Minever. A kind of costly fur, perhaps ermine. 

70. Planetary hour. An allusion to a common belief in the 
Middle Ages that at different times the influence of certain plan- 
ets was especially strong. 

78. Guarded. Ornamented. 

79. Merlin. " A merlin, or sparrow-hawk, was actually carried 
by ladies of rank, as a falcon was, in time of peace, the constant 
attendant of a knight or baron." — ScoWs note. 

89. Heron-shew. Young heron. 

90. Princely peacock's gilded train. u The peacock, it is well 
known, was considered, during the times of chivalry, not merely 
as an exquisite delicacy, but as a dish of peculiar solemnity. After 
being roasted, it was again decorated with its plumage, and a 
sponge, dipped in lighted spirits of wine, was placed in its bill. 
When it was introduced on days of grand festival, it was the 
signal for the adventurous knights to take upon them vows to do 
some deed of chivalry, 'before the peacock and the ladies.'" — 
ScoWs note. 

91. The boar-head. "The boar's head was also a usual dish 
of feudal splendor. In Scotland it was sometimes surrounded with 



144 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

little banners, displaying the colors and achievements of the baron at 
whose board it was served." — Scotfs note. Brave. Handsomely. 

92. Cygnet. Swan. " There are often flights of swans upon 
St. Mary's Lake, at the head of the river Yarrow." — Scotfs note. 
Cf . Wordsworth's Yarrow Unvisited : — 

" Let beeves and home-bred kine partake 
The sweets of Burn-mill meadow ; 
The swan on still Saint Mary's Lake 
Float double, swan and shadow.' ' 

93. Ptarmigan. A kind of grouse. 

94. Benison. Blessing. 

98. Shalm. An ancient musical instrument resembling a 
clarionet. Psaltery. A kind of harp. 

103. Hooded hawks. Hawks were kept hooded until loosed to 
catch game. 

105. Shook their bells. Hawks wore bells to frighten their 
prey. 

109. Sewers. Table servants. 

128. Bit his glove. "To bite the thumb, or the glove, seems 
not to have been considered, upon the Border, as a gesture of con- 
tempt, though so used by Shakespeare, but as a pledge of mortal 
revenge. It is yet remembered, that a young gentleman of Teviot- 
dale, on the morning after a hard drinking-bout, observed that he 
had bitten his glove. He instantly demanded of his companion, 
with whom he had quarrelled ? And, learning that he had had words 
with one of the party, insisted on instant satisfaction, asserting, 
that though he remembered nothing of the dispute, yet he was sure 
he never would have bit his glove unless he had received some un- 
pardonable insult. He fell in the duel, which was fought near Sel- 
kirk, in 1721." — Scott's note. 

132. Lyme-dog. A dog held by a learn, or band ; usually a 
hunting dog. 



Canto VI.] NOTES 145 

136. Cologne blade. A German sword such as Conrad would 
naturally wear. 

139. Buttery. Pantry or storeroom. 

142. Selle. Saddle, a French word. 

147. Quit. Requite or repay. 

154-155. Since old Buccleuch. Tradition says that one of the 
early Scotts earned the name and arms of Buccleuch, — literally, 
Buck's glen, — by fearlessly seizing a stag that had been brought 
to bay, and, after carrying him up a steep and rocky slope, laying 
the animal at the feet of the King. 

158-159. And swore it should be dearly bought. Swore that he 
should pay dearly for having drawn an arrow against him. 

162. Solway strife. A battle at Sol way Moss in 1542, when a 
Scotch army was put to flight by a force of English Borderers 
which they mistook for the whole English army, actually several 
miles distant. 

166. Trencher. Wooden plate. Cheer. Food. 

169. Bodkin. Small dagger. 

172. Spurned. Kicked. Cf. V, 53. 

184. The Land Debatable. So called because claimed by both 
England and Scotland. 

190. Simple song. "It is the author's object, in these songs, 
to exemplify the different styles of ballad narrative which pre- 
vailed in this island at different periods, or in different conditions 
of society. The first (Albert's) is conducted upon the rude and 
simple model of the old border ditties, and produces its effect by 
the direct and concise narrative of a tragical occurrence." — Jeffrey, 
quoted by Rolfe. 

203. Lea. Properly, ploughed land, but loosely used of any kind 
of field. 

207. She had not tasted well. She had hardly tasted. 

215. Cross divine. The cross worn by the Crusaders. 

224. Port. Bearing. 



146 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

225. Sonnet, roundelay. Poems in which the number of lines 
and the rhymes are governed by definite rules. 

226. Haughty Henry's court. The court of Henry VIII, king 
of England, 1509-1547. 

229. The gentle Surrey. " The gallant and unfortunate Henry 
Howard, Earl of Surrey, was unquestionably the most accom- 
plished cavalier of his time ; and his sonnets display beauties which 
would do honor to a more polished age. He was beheaded on 
Tower-hill in 1546 ; a victim to the mean jealousy of Henry VIII, 
who could not bear so brilliant a character near his throne. 

"The song of the supposed bard is founded on an incident said 
to have happened to the Earl in his travels. Cornelius Agrippa, the 
celebrated alchemist, shewed him, in a looking-glass, the lovely 
Geraldine, to whose service he had devoted his pen and his sword. 
The vision represented her as indisposed, and reclining upon a 
couch, reading her lover's verses by the light of a waxen taper." — 
Scoffs note. 

247. Deathless lay. Immortal song or poetry. 

248. Ungrateful Tudor's sentence. Henry VIII's family name 
was Tudor. 

251. Naworth's iron towers. Naworth Castle was the family 
seat of the Howards. Cf. I, 51. Iron. Here used in the sense of 
unyielding or strong. Cf. Introduction, 35. 

252. Windsor's green glades and courtly bowers. Surrey had 
attended the English court at Windsor Castle, and was afterwards 
a prisoner there. 

253-256. And, faithful to his patron's name. At the death of 
his master, the minstrel attached himself to Lord William Howard. 

257. All-souls' eve. The evening before All-souls' day, Novem- 
ber 12. "The second song, that of Fitztraver, the bard of the 
accomplished Surrey, has more of the richness and polish of the 
Italian poetry, and is very beautifully written in a stanza resem- 
bling that of Spenser." —Jeffrey, quoted by Rolfe. 



Canto VI.] NOTES 147 

260. Wise Cornelius. Cf. 229, note. 
263. Hight. Promised ; properly, named. 

271. Talisman. A magical figure or charm. 

272. Almagest. An astronomical work by Claudius Ptolemy, 
who lived in the second century ; later applied loosely to occult or 
abstruse works. 

274. Departing. Dying. 

282. A couch of Agra's silken loom. A couch with a cover of 
silk woven at Agra, a city in India. 

289. Eburnine. Made of ivory. 

300. The gory bridal bed. An allusion to the unhappy matri- 
monial experiences of Henry VIII. He had six wives, two of 
whom were beheaded. The plundered shrine. An allusion to the 
closing of the monasteries and the confiscation of church property 
which took place in Henry's reign. 

304-305. These— those. The Scots— the English. Faith. The 
Catholic religion. A quarrel between Henry VIII and the Pope led 
to the establishing of an independent English church, and to the 
final overthrow of the Catholic church in England. 

311. Orcades. The Orkney Islands off the northern coast of 
Scotland. 

312. Erst. Formerly. 

316. Pentland. Pentland Firth, off the northern coast of 
Scotland. 

317. Odin. The chief god of the ancient Scandinavians. 
325. Lochlin. Gaelic name for Scandinavia. 

327. Raven's food. Those killed in battle. 

328-329. Kings of the main. Dragons of the wave. "The 
chiefs of the Vikingr, or Scandinavian pirates, assumed the title 
of Scekonungr, or Sea-kings. Ships, in the inflated language 
of the Scalds, are often termed the serpents of the ocean. 1 ' — 
Scott's note. 

331. Scald. Scandinavian minstrel. 



148 THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL [Canto VI. 

332. Runic column. A column inscribed with runes, the alpha- 
betical characters of the ancient Scandinavians. 

335. Saga. A Scandinavian tale or poem. 

336. Sea-Snake. " The jormungandr, or Snake of the Ocean, 
whose folds surround the earth, is one of the wildest fictions of the 
Edda. It was very nearly caught by the god Thor, who went to 
fish for it with a hook baited with a bull's head. In the battle be- 
twixt the evil demons and the divinities of Odin, which is to pre- 
cede the Bagnarockr, or Twilight of the Gods, this Snake is to act 
a conspicuous part." — Scott'' s note. 

338. Dread Maids. "These were the Valkyriur, or Selectors of 
the Slain, despatched by Odin from Valhalla, to choose those who 
were to die, and to distribute the contest. They are well known 
to the English reader as Gray's Fatal Sisters." — ScoWs note. 

340-345. Of chiefs. As northern warriors were buried with 
their arms and treasures their tombs were often robbed. It was 
believed that the ghosts of dead warriors often defended their 
property from such depredations. 

341. The pale death-lights of the tomb. The ancient northern 
peoples believed that lights burned within the tombs of dead 
chieftains. 

347. Roslin's bowers. Roslin Castle, built in 1446 by William 
St. Clair, Prince of Orkney. The chapel, famous for its beauty, 
still stands. 

358. Castle Ravensheuch. A strong castle on a steep crag over 
the Firth of Forth, long the chief residence of the Rosslyn family. 

361. Inch. Gaelic word for island. 

372. The ring they ride. A favorite exercise of the knights of 
the Middle Ages was to try to take off on the point of the lance a 
ring suspended from a pole or a beam, while riding at full speed. 

374. The wine will chide. Will scold over his wine. 

383. Caverned Hawthornden. " Near Roslin, and famous as the 
residence of the poet Drummond. The house stands on a cliff ris- 



Canto VI.] NOTES 149 

ing sheer from the waters of the Esk ; and under it are several 
small caverns, hewn out of the solid rock, which have excited much 
speculation among antiquarians." — Bolfe. 

385. Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffined lie. The chiefs of the St. 
Clair family were buried in their armor, in the vaults beneath the 
chapel. 

387. Panoply. Full armor. 

389. Sacristy. A chamber in which were kept the sacred vessels 
and vestments used in religious services. Altar's pale. The en- 
closure round the altar. 

390. Foliage-bound. Carved with the figures of leaves. 
392. Pinnet. Pinnacle. 

394-395. So still they blaze. A superstition of the St. Clair 
family. 

401. With candle, with book, and with knell. An allusion to 
the lighting of candles, reading of prayers, and tolling of the bell 
at funeral services. 

429. Levin-brand. Thunderbolt. 

451-455. Like him of whom the story ran. An allusion to the 
apparition of a dog which was said to haunt a certain castle in the 
Isle of Man. Scott tells a grewsome story of a soldier who, after 
much boastful and profane talk, sought the animal alone one night. 
After some time he returned to his comrades ; but he was speech- 
less, and, after lingering for three days, died in great agony. 

468. Plight. Vow or pledge. 

496. Sackcloth vest. Clothing of coarse cloth worn as a sign of 
penitence. 

499. Uneath. Scarcely, an old Saxon word. 

515. Scapular. A scarf worn over the shoulders by monks. 

519. Host. Consecrated bread. 

523. Mitred. Wearing a mitre or bishop's cap. 

532. Office close, Close of the office or special service for the 
dead. 



150 THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTREL [Canto VI. 

535. Burden. A repeated phrase or refrain in a song. 

536-537. Dies irae, dies ilia, etc. Day of wrath, that day shall 
dissolve the world in ashes. The opening lines of a famous Latin 
hymn ascribed to Thomas of Celano, a Franciscan friar of the 
tenth century. Scott was very fond of the hymn and hummed 
parts of it during his last illness. 

568. Sweet Bowhill. The residence of Lord Dalkeith, to whom 
Scott dedicated the Lay of the Last Minstrel. It was Lady Dal- 
keith who suggested to Scott the subject of the poem. See 
Introduction. 

571. Throstles. Thrushes. Harehead-shaw. A wood not far 
from Bowhill. 

572. Carterhaugh. A plain near Newark. 

573. Blackandro's Oak. Blaekandro was a hill near Abbotsford. 



INDEX 



Acre's conquered wall, 134. 

acton, 126. 

^Eolian harp, 121. 

Agra, 147. 

AM, 120. 

Alexander II, 123. 

All-souls' eve, 146. 

almagest, 147. 

Almayn's, 134. 

aloof, 122. 

altar's pale, 149. 

alternate heralds, 141. 

an, 126. 

Ancram ford, 136. 

antique crownlet, 139. 

Apostate, 123. 

Arcturus, 117. 

Arthur's slow wain, 117. 

astrology, 141. 

Ave Mary, 122. 

aventayle, 122. 

awful mother, 127. 

bale, 129. 
bandelier, 128. 
ban-dogs, 117. 
barbican, 119. 
barded, 115. 
Bard of Reull, 138. 
Barnhill, 120. 
Baron's dwarf, 125. 
barret-cap, 128. 



barriers, 141. 

bartizan, 135. 

basnet, 119. 

bat, 127. 

battle's, 135. 

beaver, 141. 

before the beards, 127. 

Bellenden, 134. 

bells would ring, 124. 

benison, 144. 

beshrew thy heart, 133. 

better, 134. 

better hand, 135. 

bigots of the iron time, 113. 

Bilboa blade, 141. 

Billhope stag, 131. 

billmen, 134. 

bit his glove, 144. 

Blackandro, 150. 

Black Lord Archibald's battle 

laws, 138. 
Blanche Lion, 137. 
Bloody Heart, 139. 
boar-head, 143. 
bodkin, 145. 
book-bosomed, 127. 
bootless, 141. 
bore, 134. 
bower, 114. 
bowne, 129. 
bowning, 142. 
brand, 119. 
151 



152 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



Branksome tower, 114. 

Branxholme, 114. 

brave, 144. 

brook, 137. 

Buccleuch, 145. 

Buccleuch, Duchess of, 113, 114. 

Buccleuch, Earl of, 114. 

buff, 140. 

burden, 150. 

burghers, 116. 

buttery, 145. 

by times, 140. 

by wily turns, 118. 

by Yarrow's stream, 142. 

cairn's gray pyramid, 129. 
caldron, 135. 
Caledonia, 142. 
can, 122. 
Carlisle, 115. 
Carr of Cessford, 120. 
Carrs, 116. 
Carte rha ugh, 150. 
Carter's side, 125. 
cast, 133. 
Castle-Ower, 133. 
Castle Ravensheuch, 148. 
cause of terror, 141. 
caverned Hawthornden, 148. 
certes, 137. 
Charles I, 114. 
Charles's Wain, 117. 
chastened fire, 135. 
cheer, 136, 139, 145. 
cheer the dark bloodhound, 142. 
chords, 114. 
churls, 114. 

"'Clarence's Plantagenet, 139. 
claymore, 141. 
clerk, 116. 
cleugh, 134, 



cloth-yard shaft, 134. 

coat, 141. 

Cologne blade, 145. 

comest to thy command, 128. 

corbel, 122. 

cordial, 126. 

Cornelius Agrippa, 146. 

couched, 126. 

counter, 120. 

counterfeited, 134. 

Craik-cross, 117. 

craved, 140. 

cresset, 129. 

crimson sheen, 134. 

cross divine, 145. 

crowned, 126. 

culver, 135. 

curfew, 121. 

cushat-dove, 126. 

cygnet, 144. 

Dark Knight of Liddesdale, 123. 

David I, 114. 

dear, 139, 140. 

deathless lay, 146. 

death-lights, 148. 

death-prayer, 125. 

deigned, 141. 

departing, 147. 

dies irae, dies ilia, 150. 

dight, 115, 141. 

Dinlay's spotless snow, 133. 

dint, 125, 126. 

dire debate, 126. 

dispiteous scathe, 141. 

Doric reed, 120. 

dragons of the wave, 147. 

drawn, 115. 

dread Maids, 148. 

drie, 122. 

drove the jolly bowl about, 140. 



INDEX 



153 



Druid shades, 119. 
dubbed, 137. 

Duke of Monmouth, 114. 
dulcet, 138. 

Dumpender Law, 129. 
Dundee, 130. 
Dunedin, 116. 

Earl Francis, 114. 

Earl of Arran, 129. 

Earl of Douglas, 120, 123. 

Earl of Northumberland, 1*15. 

Earl Walter, 114. 

earn, 129. 

east oriel, 123. 

eburnine, 147. 

Edinburgh, 114, 116. 

Edward VI, 118. 

Eildon Hills, 124. 

eld, 125. 

emerald rings, 117. 

emprise, 136. 

enow, 131. 

erst, 147. 

Eskdale, 133. 

Eskdale-moor, 115. 

Ettrick shade, 132. 

fain, 114, 125. 

faintness, 134 

fair, 125. 

faith, 147. 

Fala's mossy wave, 132. 

falchions, 116. 

falcon, 135. 

falls, 137. 

fantasy's, 140. 

Fastern's night, 131. 

favor, 135. 

fell, 117. 

fellest, 125. 



fellow's, 128. 

fence, 122, 128. 

fire of death, 128. 

flemens-firth, 136. 

flood, 131. 

Flower of Yarrow, 133. 

foliage-bound, 149. 

football play, 140. 

footcloth,141. 

for, 137, 140. 

freely born, 141. 

fro, 128. 

frounced, 134. 

furiouslie, 127. 

gainsaid, 137. 

Gallant Chief of Otterburne, 123. 

galliard, 133. 

Gamescleuch's dusky height, 132. 

gauntlet on a spear, 135. 

gear, 142. 

gentle Surrey, 146. 

German hackbut-men, 131. 

ghostly, 141. 

Gilpin Horner, 125. 

Gilsland brand, 135. 

glaive, 135. 

glamour, 127. 

Goblin Page, 125. 

gorget, 141. 

gory bridal bed, 147. 

Graham of Claverhouse, 130. 

gramarye, 127. 

gramercy, 128. 

gray-goose shaft, 137. 

Great Dipper, 117. 

grisly, 127. 

guarded, 14"). 

hackbuteer, 128. 
had been, 125. 



154 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MIXSTBEL 



hag. 131. 

ribee, 119. 
Halidon. 120. 
Harebead-shaw. 150. 
harkquebuss. 12$ 137. 
harness, 115. 
harried, 136. 
hasrilie. 125. 
hau_ 1 4 

Haughty Henry's court. 14*3. 
healing by sympathy. 128. 
hearse. 138. 
Henry VIII. 146, 147. 
heriot. 133. 
Hermitage. 140. 
heron-shew. 143. 
high. 129. 
high behe-* 127. 
night. 147. 
him listed. 124. 
Holme Coltrame. 142. 
Holyrood, 114. 
homage and seigniory. 133. 

Home and Hermitage. 12 
hooded hawks, 144. 

149. 

idlesse. 115. 
imagery. 121. 
iinpel the rill. 139. 
imprisoned. 117. 
inch. I 

in choral stave. 142. 
in due degree, 121. 
in the escalade, 135. 
irk>. I 

iron. 113. 146. 
Irthing. 1-34. 
Isle of Man, 149. 
jack, 126. 



James II. 113. 
wood Air, 138. 

Jed wood-axe, 115. 
jennet, 122. 
Jesu Maria. 114. 
jovial harper, 1 " 

keep. 12? . 
ken. 128, 131. 
Kendal archers, 134. 

s ua 

-one. 122. 
Killiecrankie, 130. 
kindly. 126. 

King Charles the Good, 114. 
King David I. 121. 
King James V, 120. 
kings of the main, 147. 
kirtle. 125, 128. 
knighthood he took, 136. 
know. 135. 

Ladye. 114. 

Land Debatable. 145. 

lauds. 121. 

lea. 145. 

leading staffs. 141. 

lent, 1. 

Leven clans, 130. 

levin-brand. 14°. 

levin-darting. 134. 

lion ardent. 135. 

137. 
litherlie, 12S 
Lochlin. 147. 
long of thee, 142. 

. 1:34. 
Lord Scroop, 115. 
Lord Walter. 115. 
Lord William Howard, 115, 146. 
lorn, 119. 



INDEX 



155 



Lothian, 129. 
lurcher, 127. 
lyke-wake dirge, 137. 
lyme-dog, 144. 

Malaga, 126. 

march-man, 120. 

march-treason pain, 136. 

mark, 141. 

Mary, Queen of Scots, 118. 

matin prime, 118. 

Maudlin, 128. 

meetly, 121. 

Melrose Abbey, 120, 121. 

merlin, 143. 

Michaelmas, 119. 

Michael Scott, 123, 124. 

mickle, 134. 

Middle Marches, 139. 

mignon's, 138. 

minever, 143. 

Minto-crags, 119, 120. 

misprized, 142. 

mitred, 149. 

Moat-hill's mound, 119. 

mood, 133. 

morion, 131. 

morrice, 117. 

morris, 117. 

morsing-horns, 134. 

mortal field, 141. 

moss-trooper, 118. 

mount for Branksome, 129. 

mounts the warrior's steed, 126. 

muir, 133. 

mutual pilgrimage, 116. 

Naworth, 115, 146. 
neck-verse, 119. 
need-fire, 129. 
nerves, 125. 



nether, 140. 
Newark Castle, 113. 
Notre Dame, 124. 

Oakwood Tower, 133. 

Odin, 147. 

of chiefs, 148. 

office close, 149. 

of name, 115. 

Old Dunbar, 139. 

on a heap, 126. 

on row, 137. 

Orcades, 147. 

Orion's studded belt, 118. 

Orkney Islands, 147. 

Our Ladye's grace, 120. 

Ousenam's maidens, 138. 

owches, 143. 

Padua, 116. 
pale, 123. 
pales, 140. 
palfrey, 113. 
palmer's amice, 125. 
panoply, 149. 
partisan, 135. 
passing strength, 125. 
patter, 122. 

Paynim countries, 123. 
peacock, 143. 
peel, 119. 

Penchryst Pen, 128. 
pensils, 137. 
Pentland Firth, 147. 
Pentoun-linn, 134. 
Percy, 115. 
pillars, 122. 
pinuet, 149. 
plained, 134. 
planetary hour, 143. 
plied, 138. 



156 



THE LAY OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



plight, 149. 
plundered shrine, 147. 
poor and thankless soil, 142. 
port, 140, 145. 
postern, 125. 
powers, 115. 
prescience, 137. 
pricking, 126. 
Priesthaughswire, 129. 
prove, 131. 
psaltery, 144. 
ptarmigan, 144. 
pursuivant-at-arms, 135. 

quatre-feuille, 122. 
quit, 145. 

rade, 125. 

Rangleburn, 134. 

Rattling Roaring Willie, 138. 

raven's food, 147. 

reads, 135. 

recked, 121. 

recreant, 126. 

Regent, 129. 

remorse, 125. 

riven, 123. 

Robert Bruce, 118. 

Roman way, 119. 

rood, 122. 

Roslin's bowers, 148. 

Roslin's chiefs, 149. 

roundelay, 146. 

Ruberslaw, 137. 

rue, 125. 

runic column, 148. 

rushy floor, 115. 

sable, 142. 
sackcloth vest, 149. 
sacristy, 149. 



sad swain, 120. 

saga, 148. 

Saint Andrew's cloistered hall, 116. 

Saint Barnab right, 131. 

Saint Cuthbert's even, 136. 

Saint George's red cross, 115. 

Saint Mary's silver wave, 132. 

Saint Michael's night, 119. 

Salamanca's cave, 123, 124. 

Scald, 147. 

scapular, 149. 

scaur's red side, 117. 

scorched, 126. 

Scottish monarch, 123. 

scourge of thorn, 122. 

scrogg, 131. 

scrolls, 121. 

scutcheon, 123. 

Sea-Snake, 148. 

seems as, 142. 

selle, 145. 

seneschal, 129. 

set, 125. 

Seven Spears of Wedderburne, 139. 

sewers, 144. 

shafted oriel, 121. 

shalm, 144. 

sheeling, 127. 

shirt of hair, 122. 

shook their bells, 144. 

short shrift, 127. 

simple song, 145. 

Sir David Scott, 117. 

Sir Gilbert Elliot, 120. 

six Scottish ells, 131. 

Skelf hill-pen, 117. 

Skirmish Field, 120. 

slashed, 141. 

slogan's deadly yell, 116. 

snaffle, spur, and spear, 142. 

snatchers, 131. 



1XDEX 



157 



Soltra, 129. 

Solway Sands, 118. 

Solway strife, 145. 

some whit, 125. 

so mot I thrive, 127. 

sonnet, 146. 

sooth, 114. 

so still they blaze, 149. 

Southern ravage, 130. 

span, 128. 

sped, 135. 

speed, 125. 

spell, 127. 

Spirit's prophecy, 141. 

spleen, 127. 

spousal rite, 143. 

sprite, 140. 

spurned, 145. 

stark, 118. 

still, 141. 

stole, 142. 

stout, 135. 

strain, 141. 

swair, 134. 

sweet Bowhill, 150. 

Sweet Milk, 138. 

Swinton, 139. 

swith, 135. 

ta'en, 139. 

talisman, 147. 

tarn, 129. 

Tarras Moss, 118. 

tell, 140. 

Teviot-stone, 115, 143. 

thanedom, 139. 

the crane on the Baron's crest, 126. 

the eagle and the rood, 137. 

the ring they ride, 148. 

these, 147. 

the wine will chide, 148. 



Thirlstane, 132. 

those, 147. 

throstles, 150. 

tide, 143. 

tire, 128. 

to bower from stall, 115. 

Todshawhill, 133. 

to gain his spurs, 135. 

toils, 137. 

train, 127. 

trencher, 145. 

tressured fleur-de-luce, 132. 

triumphant Michael, 123, 

trow, 115. 

truce of Border tide, 135. 

truncheon, 118. 

try sting-place, 132. 

Tudor, 146. 

tunes the shepherd's reed, 126. 

Tweed, 130. 

Tyndale men, 130. 

uneath, 149. 
Unicorn's pride, 118. 
urchin, 140. 
urn, 123, 139. 

vails not to tell, 139. 
vassals, 129. 
Velez, 126. 
vilde, 127. 

wain, 117, 127. 
Warden-Raid, 131. 
wardens, 128. 
warrison, 136. 
W ark work, 115. 
wassail, 140. 

Wat of Harden, 132, 133. 
Watt Tinlinn, 130, 131. 
weapon-schaw, 137. 



158 



THE LA Y OF THE LAST MINSTREL 



ween, 120. 

what hap had proved, 141. 

what make you here, 137. 

what time, 132. 

whenas, 137. 

whingers, 140. 

wicket, 121. 

wight, 115. 

wildered, 127. 

will cleanse him by oath, 136. 

William III, 113. 



William of Deloraine, 118. 

wimple, 141. 

Windsor Castle, 146. 

with candle, with book, and with 

knell, 149. 
wont, 134. 
wraith, 141. 
wrought Spanish baldric, 125. 

yeomen, 115. 
yew, 131. 



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